


Episode 1-16 - "Looming Shadows"

by stgjr



Series: Undiscovered Frontier Season 1 - "Seeking the Past" [16]
Category: Babylon 5, Mass Effect, Original Work, Star Trek
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Multiverse, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-28 09:25:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 25,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10828416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stgjr/pseuds/stgjr
Summary: The investigation of the Darglan Homeworld leads the Aurora crew into contact with the native species of Universe E5B1 and a trip to their most important space station: Babylon-5.





	1. Chapter 1

**Teaser**  
  
  
Lucy's heart raced as she rushed through the blue corridors. The pack on her back was a burden she was starting to get used to after all of this time. Not that it made running any easier given the light combat armor she was in.  
  
The Marine ahead of her, a male Dorei with light blue skin and purple hair and spotting, checked a corridor junction carefully. He made a hand signal to certify that the way was clear and moved into the junction.  
  
A deep voice rumbled over the commline in Lucy's helmet. Commander Worf, of course. " _Team 2, this is Team 1. Have you reached the objective?_ "  
  
"Team 1, negative," Commander Kane answered. "We had to blast our way through an ambush. We're coming up on it, though."  
  
" _You must move more quickly. We are running out of time._ " There was the sound of a disruptor going off in the background. " _We will not be able to hold this position for much longer._ "  
  
"I read you, Team 1." Kane looked to Lucy and the other Marines escorting her. "Okay people, let's double-time it!"  
  
Lucy restrained a groan that started to form in her throat. She needed the air anyway, given the speed with which Kane's people were now running.  
  
They found the portal they were looking for at the end of the next corridor. Inside was equipment Lucy had not seen in almost two years. "This is it," she said. "The central field emitter for the DT field."  
  
"Do your thing, Lieutenant, we'll watch your…"  
  
" _Panzergrenadiers!_ ", shouted one of the Marines.  
  
Everyone turned to look down the corridor they'd come in from. A file of human figures in heavy black armor were stomping their way. The distinctive _stahl helm_ design of the helmet, with two red eyepieces, was enough of a giveaway even without the hooked cross swastika insignia in white over the heart.  
  
Lucy got out of the way as a series of disruptor pulses erupted from the arm cannons mounted in the Reich's elite armored infantry suits. The Marines scattered and took cover around the doorway. "Close the door!", Kane shouted. "Lucero, get that thing going!"  
  
Lucy swallowed and nodded. She unslung the pack on her back and located what she had been looking for: the main field array machinery. She set the pack up against it and opened up the controls for what lay within: a naqia bomb big enough to vaporize them all when it went off, not to mention the machinery in the room. She started arming it. "I need a few minutes!"  
  
"You've got two!", Kane shouted. He pulled a grenade off his belt and armed it. He threw it in a blind toss into the hall. There was a thunderous blast that sent heat flooding into the room. "Teams 1 and 3, this is Team 2, we've got PGs!"  
  
" _How many?_ ", was the question from Team 3's commander, Meridina.  
  
"At least a squad, from the looks of it." Kane fished another grenade from his belt. He armed it. "We're setting the bomb now. If you can't get to us, get out."  
  
" _Die well, Commander Kane_ ," Worf replied.  
  
Lucy swallowed at that. So that was it? After all this, after all the planning, she and the others were going to be left behind? _Obviously. We're outgunned and this bomb has to go off. We can't afford anything else happening._ She activated the bomb. "Weapon armed. What time do you want me to set it for?"  
  
Kane looked at her. "Set it…"  
  
Before he could finish an object flew through the door. "Grenade!", one of the Marines shouted. Kane jumped to cover it.  
  
Before he could, it went off. Lucy was blinded by a flash and thrown back against her bomb. All cries from the others were cut off. When Lucy's vision came back there was nothing left but charred corpses. She felt like she could barely move; the blast wave hadn't been entirely dispelled by her armor. A small display in the corner of her helmet told her she was suffering from multiple internal injuries that were causing hemorrhaging.  
  
And at the door, the shadows of the first enemy armored troopers were looming. " _Surrender and you vill be spared!_ ", an accented voice called out through a speaker.  
  
Lucy knew better. Even if she was spared, and even if she survived her injuries, it wouldn't do any good. She'd wish she'd died here.  
  
Her quivering hand fought her, but she forced it to reach over and hit the initiation key on the bomb.  
  
Everything went white.  
  
  
  
  
The video stopped playing. "Congratulations are in order." Commander Jen Shepard of the Systems Alliance Navy clapped. "You completed the mission. Of course, you also ended up turning it into a suicide mission." A wry look appeared on her face. "But those can happen."  
  
The briefing room of the _Aurora_ was filled with several of the command crew, Meridina's lieutenants in security, and Kane and his officers and senior NCOs.  
  
Shepard, wearing the blue casual uniform of the Systems Alliance Navy, nodded to Lucy. In turn, Lucy frowned and crossed her arms. "We wouldn't have gotten trapped if the DT field machinery chamber was in the right place."  
  
"Oh?" Shepard looked to her side. "Commander Worf?"  
  
The Klingon, wearing the gold of Starfleet security, nodded. "Commander Shepard and I agreed that it was best to defy your assumptions. You presume the Darglan built their Facilities to a universal model; they may not have."  
  
"That assumption cost you," Shepard added. "And it got you trapped."  
  
Lucy didn't have a reply to that. But she didn't stop frowning.  
  
"Are we sure the Nazis will have armored infantry present?", Angel asked from the other table, where she was seated with Robert, Julia, and Jarod. "They're pretty rare."  
  
"But they still fit into the Facility," Shepard pointed out. "Given the stakes involved we can't assume they'll hold back anything."  
  
"Our advisors are correct." Meridina nodded. "We must account for any possible tactic by the foe."  
  
"Right." Robert nodded. "We'll schedule another exercise soon. I'll be joining this one."  
  
"I do not see the point in that," Worf said. "You are the ship's captain, it is not your place to join the operation."  
  
"I understand that, Commander Worf, but as you and Commander Shepard were quick to point out, we've got to be ready for anything." Robert gestured to Lucy. "So far Lucy and I are the only ones who have been proven able to access secured features of the Darglan technology."  
  
"I, too, have had said technology recognize me," Meridina pointed out.  
  
"Still, if something happens and neither of you are available, I may need to go down and assist," Robert pointed out. "So I should be ready to operate with the others."  
  
Shepard answered that with a nod. "A good point. Alright, we'll put you through your paces with the others."  
  
Jarod winced from where he was sitting. "And hopefully you won't get the same hit to the shoulder I did."  
  
"Babies." Angel smirked and crossed her arms. "I got two ribs broken by Worf in the last training round. You didn't see me crying, did you?"  
  
Robert suppressed a chuckle. Angel hadn't cried, no, but she hadn't been very happy the next couple of nights. Even with Leo's ministrations, it took time to fully recover from injuries like that.  
  
Before he or anyone else could speak again, a tone sounded over the speakers in the room. " _Data to Briefing Room 1._ " Worf's comrade had taken the bridge watch for the duration of the meeting.  
  
"We're here, Commander."  
  
"Mastrash _Ledosh wishes to speak with you, Captain._ "  
  
"Patch him through."  
  
Robert turned away and toward a wall monitor that the signal got relayed to. Ledosh appeared on the screen. He was in an office in one of the government buildings of the planet below. The skyline of Galkingrad was visible through a window behind him. " _Captain Dale. I am pleased to report that the negotiations are over._ "  
  
Robert blinked. "That fast?"  
  
" _Indeed. It would appear that the Slavic Union was already quite willing to commit to the war. While they will not commit to resuming the talks on Alliance membership, they are already in the process of finalizing a treaty of military alliance against the Nazi Reich. I am assured that their fleets and troops will be deployed as soon as IU drives are made available. It would appear that they have rather unkind memories of this universe's Nazi Germany._ "  
  
_I bet_. "Will Ambassador Winthrop be needing your assistance for any longer?"  
  
" _No. I will be returning shortly, Captain._ "  
  
After Ledosh disappeared Robert looked to the others. "Another ally." Julia smiled. "Hopefully our factories for the IU drives can keep up with the new demand."  
  
"Given the roll we're on diplomatically… yeah." Robert nodded. "Anyway, I'll be returning to my office to see what Admiral Maran and the President have for us next. Commanders, is there anything else?"  
  
"There is not," Worf replied.  
  
"Thank you for your time and effort then. I look forward to getting my ass kicked like the rest of us." Robert nodded to everyone. "I'll see you all on the bridge."  
  
  
  
  
Robert had barely gotten to his ready room when Data made the call. " _Captain, I have Admiral Maran on the IU comm line._ "  
  
"I'm ready, Data," he answered aloud, settling into his seat. He shifted a little and was comfortable when Admiral Maran appeared. The Gersallian admiral didn't seem to have any more gray hair on his dark-haired head than Robert had noticed last time. _Maybe Gersallians have different ways of showing prolonged stress._ "Admiral. Ledosh has the treaty."  
  
" _I know, I just got the notification myself._ "  
  
"So, where to next, sir? Lemara? New Granada? Wittelsbachwelt?"  
  
" _None of the above._ " Maran put his hands in front of him. " _Four days ago, the_ Challenger _jumped at the galactic coordinates you sent to us. They have since reported their arrival at what appears to have been the Darglan Homeworld._ "  
  
Robert's mouth hung open silently for a moment. His eyes were widening. "The mission was approved, then?"  
  
" _Yes. Because of your diplomatic mission still being ongoing we held off on sending you. But you and_ Mastrash _Ledosh have accomplished all that we could ask in C5O2. We're pulling you from the diplomatic tour for the time being._ "  
  
Robert's heart was starting to beat faster from excitement. "So we've got the green light?"  
  
" _Yes._ " Maran nodded and smiled thinly. " _You and your friends were the start of this, Robert. You've been around Darglan technology the longest. And you'll be the ones putting any discoveries to use. You deserve the chance to be there for this. Your new orders are to lock onto_ Challenger _'s drive and to jump to her location immediately for the excavation of the Darglan Homeworld._ "  
  
  
  
  


**Undiscovered Frontier  
_"Looming Shadows"_**

  
_Ship's Log: ASV Aurora; 14 September 2641. Captain Robert Dale recording. After concluding negotiations for support with the Slavic League in Universe C5O2, President Morgan and Admiral Maran have given us clearance to join the excavation of the Darglan Homeworld in Universe E5B1. I'm hopeful that we might find something there that will help us find the Darglan Facility in S4W8 before the Nazi Reich does.  
  
And I'm thankful to say that _Mastrash _Ledosh will be joining us for this mission should we have need of his talents. There is no telling what other species may exist in this universe and we may have need of his diplomatic skills or his other capabilities before we are done here._  
  
  
Robert felt the familiar sensation of an interuniversal jump as he stepped out onto the bridge. Julia waited until the ship was safely through the jump point before getting out of the command chair and moving over to her own. On the viewscreen in front of them was a somber sight, but not unexpected; a ruined garden planet.  
  
"The Darglan Homeworld," Caterina said with tears in her eyes. "It's… I…" She stopped herself and returned to her work. "Sensors are showing no life on a macroscopic scale. The planet's biosphere has been completely destroyed. I am detecting ruins across the planet."  
  
"What happened here?", Julia asked.  
  
"The planet's surface is showing signs of massive amounts of past tectonic activity. Like the planet nearly blew itself apart from the core upward."  
  
Data looked over her readings from his own station, even if he was using Tom Barnes' engineering station for the moment. "Given the damage pattern, I would surmise that the Darglan Homeworld was subjected to orbital bombardment from all sides. The tectonic activity and the damage to the surface would indicate that whatever force destroyed this world used thousands of projectiles capable of penetrating to the planet's core, where they detonated with a force in the multiple gigaton range. The resulting devastation destroyed all life within hours." The android seemed perturbed by the destruction. "I must express my concern that we may not find anything of value on the planet due to the scale of the devastation."  
  
"Give us a standard orbit near the _Challenger_ , Mister Locarno," ordered Julia.  
  
At Locarno's control, _Aurora_ moved into orbit of the broken world. A pinpoint of light on the screen grew until it became a ship. "Well, would you look at that," Locarno said. "Beautiful, isn't she?"  
  
The other ship looked surprisingly like the _Aurora_. Blue-sheened hull, a visible distinction between a primary hull and drive hull with the navigational deflector dish at the front of the drive hull, but with the two hulls flowing together enough that there was no "neck" like was standard in many large Starfleet designs. She was only half the size, though, and with only two warp nacelles (moving upward) to the _Aurora_ 's four.  
  
"I am not familiar with that design," Data said. "But it appears to be based on the _Aurora_."  
  
"You're right," Robert said with a small grin. "This is one of the new _Discovery_ -class starships in the Alliance fleet. One of the first ship types to be built specifically for the Alliance and not from one of our members' navies. She must have just finished her shakedown cruise."  
  
"They're hailing," Jarod said.  
  
The face on the screen was familiar, and drew a smile from Robert. "Madeleine. Captain Laurent. Good to see you," he said.  
  
The African woman on the screen smiled at him. " _Robert. Julia. You are all doing well?_ "  
  
"Yeah. Nice new ship. I'm glad you got the command."  
  
" _So am I. She's not the_ Weaver _or_ Kirby _, certainly._ " Captain Laurent nodded. " _How is my little brother?_ "  
  
"He's doing well. Our fighters are kept in top shape," Julia answered, referring to Lt. Commander Patrice Laurent, the _Aurora_ 's fighter group commander.  
  
" _Good for him. I'm proud._ "  
  
"How's Nasira?", Julia asked. "I heard she became your XO?"  
  
" _Commander Fanous is on the planet now with our excavation team._ " Laurent's expression shifted to a more business-like look. " _We've already done preliminary surveys. I was about to send my report when your jump drive system locked on to us. We found something._ "  
  
"Already?", Robert asked. _That sounds very good…_  
  
" _It's not what you think, Robert_ ," Madeleine warned. " _We found the wreckage of a ship on the northern continent. Fresh wreckage. And signs of prior excavations._ "  
  
Julia and Robert exchanged worried looks. "So we're not the first ones here," he said. _And if there's any trace of the technology down there…_  
  
" _From what we can tell, the vessel in question was badly damaged when it crashed. We've recovered bodies. Some are Human, others are of a species we have no record of._ "  
  
"Any indications as to what technology they use?", Jarod asked.  
  
" _We know they do not have naqia reactors. And no warp drives. The ship isn't intact enough to let us know what kind of alternative FTL system they have. Our orbital scans show no signs of any other vessel having come through here for weeks._ "  
  
"I understand." Robert nodded. "Who's your science officer?"  
  
" _Philippe, of course._ "  
  
Cat smiled at that. "I'll have to call him then. Maybe we can find out more together."  
  
" _Why don't you beam over? Our science labs are based on your own._ "  
  
"That's an excellent idea," Julia said. "Cat and Data can go over and look over what's been found."  
  
" _We will be waiting for them._ "  
  
"Then there's just the matter of joining the ground teams in surveying any promising spots," Julia said. "I can lead a group down with Jarod to check any other sites."  
  
" _We have a few that still need to be checked out_ ," Madeleine said. " _I'll relay coordinates. The radiation isn't heavy enough to prevent transporter operation._ "  
  
Robert nodded. "Do that. We'll keep in touch."  
  
"Yes sir. Signing off." Madeleine Laurent disappeared from the screen.  
  
"It's always good to see a familiar face doing well," Julia said. She stood up. "I'll go assemble the ground team."  
  
"And I'll go with Data and beam over to the _Challenger_ ," Caterina said. "I can't wait to see her. Farmer based so much of her off of our ship, but she's got one extra science lab over us and dedicated naqia reactors for each one. The labs are completely independent from the ship."  
  
"Keep me updated," Robert requested. He pressed the intercom key on his chair. "Dale to King."  
  
" _Yes, Captain?_ ," replied Commander Elizabeth King, commanding the attack ship _Sladen_ that was docked to _Aurora_ as a temporary replacement for the _Koenig_.  
  
"Assemble your crew. Now that we're in E5B1, I'd like the _Sladen_ to launch. Just as a precaution."  
  
" _Yes, Captain, my crew will be ready to launch in half an hour._ "  
  
  
  
  
Caterina and Data appeared in the transporter station on the _Challenger_. A young Human woman in the beige of Operations crew looked up - she looked Central Asian to Cat. "Welcome," she said. "Lieutenant Duwala is waiting for you in Science Lab 2. It is about fifty meters down the passageway toward the ship's aft."  
  
"Thanks," Cat said to her. "Oh, and at ease."  
  
They stepped out into the main corridor and started following it. Caterina smiled in appreciation at how closely it matched _Aurora_ 's own blue-walled halls. The partitions for emergency bulkheads to slide into place were a little rounder, that seemed the only difference.  
  
"This vessel was also a design by Captain Carlton Farmer, was it not?", Data asked.  
  
"Well, partly," Cat answered. "Captain Farmer was still busy getting the _Aurora_ finished. But he did oversee the work and make the final plans."  
  
"I see. The Starfleet influence in the ship's layout and design is unmistakable."  
  
"Just how he wanted it," Cat said. "So, how are your emotions? I mean, you've got that chip stuck in you, right?"  
  
"Yes," Data confirmed. "I have been experimenting with turning it to higher settings to judge my readiness for constant use of emotions."  
  
"And what have you learned so far?"  
  
"I believe I can set the chip to 40% potential power without risking a loss of control."  
  
"You're getting there, then! That's great!"  
  
Data looked at her with curiosity. "You seem personally invested in my development of emotions. Why?"  
  
Caterina shrugged, though she was still smiling. "Why not? I enjoy them. Being happy, being curious, that little bit of warmth inside you and everything."  
  
"I am not sure I would describe my emotions as a 'warmth' as of yet."  
  
"I'm sure you will once you can have stronger emotions safely."  
  
Data considered that. "Ah. I understand. This 'warmth' comes from the intensity of an emotion."  
  
"That's one way of putting it."  
  
"I shall endeavor to see if I can feel the warmth you speak of."  
  
They found the entrance to the Science Lab and entered. Two Alakins, an officer and a technician, were in one corner going over what looked like a piece of debris.  
  
"Caterina! Oh, it is good to see you." Philippe Duwala was looking up from a scanning device he was seated beside. Like Cat his uniform contained the blue of a science officer. The lights in the room reflected off the dark skin of his shaved head. "How are you?" He stood and walked up to them. "It's been too long."  
  
"I'm doing okay," she answered, accepting a hug. She gave him a quizzical look. "What happened to your hair?"  
  
"Oh." He seemed to blush a little. He lowered his voice. "Rodrigo thought I looked better bald. Personally I think that it's just him."  
  
"How is he? You're still together?"  
  
"He's the tactical officer, and yes, we are." Philippe smiled. "Two years now. All because of you and the others."  
  
"You're the one who actually had to ask him out," Cat pointed out, smiling. "And, oh. Sorry." She looked to Data. "I'm sorry, Data. This is Philippe Duwala. Philippe, Commander Data, formerly from the Federation _Starship Enterprise_."  
  
"He was one of your colleagues during your time operating the Darglan Facility?", Data asked. He briefly accessed his memory banks for the discussion where Robert Dale had explained what they did to Captain Picard, himself, and Counselor Troi during their first contact.  
  
"Yes," Philippe said. "They freed me and many others from certain death in that horrible jail."  
  
Data blinked. "Would it offend you if I asked why you were held? For the purpose of curiosity only, I assure you."  
  
"No, it's quite alright," Philippe said. "Some of us were political prisoners. I was being held because I am gay."  
  
Data seemed perplexed. "I do not understand. Homosexuality was considered a crime?"  
  
"There were a lot of countries on our Earth who made it one, yes," Cat answered. She frowned. "I think some still do. Even with spaceships flying over their heads now."  
  
"It is old sufferings, it compares nothing to what I have now." Philippe gestured to the room. "All of this is better than dwelling on the past." He stepped back over to the scanner and they followed. "Anyway, it is best if I show you what we have so far."  
  
"Still nothing from the actual Darglan ruins?", Cat asked.  
  
"Not yet, I am afraid. Nasira was hoping that a site on the secondary southern continent would yield results." Philippe tapped several keys. "For now I am analyzing the ship that we found. It crashed on the northern hemisphere." Philippe brought up an image of the vessel's wreckage. The dust from the upended dirt of the planet obscured some of the coloring of the ship, but Cat noticed there were some purple to be found. "I've spent two days studying it. I believe it was broken into three distinct pieces from the impact. There were no survivors of the crash."  
  
"Have you determined whether it was an accident?", Data asked.  
  
"Unlikely." Philippe frowned. With a touch of a key he brought up a blackened piece from the crash. "I took this sample from the site, and there is more where it came from. My analysis shows thermal damage consistent with energy weapons. Apparently a form of particle beam."  
  
"So someone shot them down." Caterina shook her head. She had a frown now as well. "And the ship doesn't have a warp drive?"  
  
"No. There is no sign of warp field generation technology. But some of the technology on board was quite advanced. The data systems seem to be based on crystal media. And the hull…"  
  
With a touch of a button he brought up a microscopic analysis of the damaged part of the hull. Caterina and Data took a long look. "Is that what I think it is?", she asked.  
  
"Fascinating." Data was closely examining the piece. "It appears to be some form of scar tissue. As if it was healing itself in an organic fashion."  
  
"It's not like our self-repair systems," Philippe confirmed. "No sign of replicated use. The material was literally re-growing itself. Like a body healing a flesh wound."  
  
"This is so cool," Caterina said. "This… this is _bio-armor_." Noticing Data's curious look she added, "I saw it in the Darglan archives a couple of years ago. The theory, I mean, the Darglan never made it work. Their self-repair systems are based on the same principle idea, but they had to use replicators. No, this… this is actually having an alloy compound that behaves like living tissue. It heals itself and can even adapt to the things that hurt it. Over time it grows more resistant to whatever has caused damage before."  
  
"Some scientists in the Federation have speculated on such material being possible as the final evolution of memory metal technology," Data said. "However, to find an actual example is quite the discovery."  
  
"And someone still managed to defeat it," Philippe sighed.  
  
"Well, it might have been relatively 'young' material," Cat pointed out. "Subjected to an overwhelming attack that it had no hope to adapt itself against. The important thing is that we've found something like this."  
  
"Now we just need to figure out who they are."  
  
"Doctor Grieber finished examining the bodies this morning. She says that a few were Human, but most seemed to be another species we have never seen before." Philippe tapped a key and brought up an image. It was a humanoid form, blackened and burnt by fire, wearing what had been cream-colored clothing, almost robes. A crest seemed to be coming from the top of the being's skull that wrapped around the back of the head.  
  
"Wow." Cat sighed. "It's horrible to meet a new species from their remains. Well, let's start with the ship. We'll go over what we have…"  
  
  
  
  
 _I'm on the Darglan Homeworld._  
  
Julia looked out at the toppled ruins that had once been skyscraping structures. The environmental systems in her suit kept her warm against what her instruments were calling a biting chill. They also provided her the oxygen to breathe, a must-have given the planet's atmosphere had literally been blown away by the bombardment it had been subjected to. _How could someone even accomplish that? What could?_  
  
"This is where it all began," she murmured to herself. "Everything."  
  
" _Commander._ "  
  
She turned slightly. One of the operations officers, Lieutenant Thanh, was looking up at her from within the fallen building. _Back to business, Julie_ , she thought to herself. "Yes, Lieutenant?", she asked.  
  
His response came over the speaker in her helmet. " _We may have found something._ "  
  
"I'm coming." She made her way down carefully, avoiding anything that might cause a rip in her suit. There wasn't much that could - the material was resistant to the kinds of tears you might otherwise get - but with a toxic atmosphere outside of her suit it seemed ridiculous to take that chance.  
  
" _This way._ "  
  
Thanh led her into the partially-toppled building they had been standing on. Julia had to climb down a ladder placed by her excavation team to get through a hole in what was once a wall. The lights on their helmets were the only source of illumination in the dead, lightless ruins beneath what had become the surface.  
  
There was more light ahead, though. The team had set up their lights in this chamber. Julia stepped into it and watched the five other members of the excavation crew scanning. Immediately she realized that this was something of interest; she could tell that several of the now-dead consoles had once been computer control systems, much like the ones the Facility had used. "This was a data center of some kind," she said.  
  
" _As near as we can tell. But there's no sign of the actual computers._ " Thanh indicated one side of the room. Julia went over and inspected it. " _What do you think, Commander?_ "  
  
"What I think, Lieutenant, is that someone took the hardware," she answered. Julia pressed the comm-key for her multidevice. "Andreys to Aurora."  
  
" _Aurora here_ ," Robert answered.  
  
"It looks like we're not the only ones who have been here, Captain," Julia said. "We've found what looks to be a data center of some sort, but all of the actual computer hardware has been taken."  
  
"... _Damn. See what else you can find out, Commander, and head back up. Data and Cat should be done soon._ "  
  
"I read you." Julia nodded to Thanh. "Lieutenant, I need this entire chamber scanned. Not a single cell or atom gets missed, okay? We need any sign we can get of the people who were here."  
  
" _Yes Commander._ "


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation of the Darglan Homeworld leads the Aurora crew into contact with the native species of Universe E5B1 and a trip to their most important space station: Babylon-5.

Julia was the last one to get back, heading straight to the conference room on her arrival. Robert had assembled the rest of the command staff to attend; Madeleine and Philippe were observing from the _Challenger_ and King from the _Sladen_. Jarod and Scotty both showed surprise when Cat and Data shared their findings. "Bio-armor?", Jarod asked. "You're kidding."  
  
"Not at all," Cat said, smiling. "Philippe found it. It shows all of the signs. It fits the Darglan entry."  
  
"Bio-armor is good, right?" Angel asked.  
  
"Imagine hull armor that reacts like organic tissue." Caterina looked at her sister. "When it's injured, it heals, and it heals in a way to further resist injury."  
  
"Scar tissue." Leo nodded. "Of course, it takes days or weeks, even months, for most species to heal physical wounds."  
  
"Yes, but isn't that because of energy requirements? The body has to 'grow' new cells, new tissue, to replace the damaged tissue." Caterina's voice was faster than normal; she was Excited. "But if you hook it up to a starship's power source, it heals itself more rapidly."  
  
"Doesn't it need food, then?", Julia asked.  
  
"I… dunno. The Darglan never said what nourishment would be necessary. They never got that far."  
  
"It must be remembered that bio-armor, as stated, is not simply organic tissue," Data added. "It is more accurately a material with starship-grade resistant capability that behaves like organic tissue in this matter. Much like memory metal can alter itself upon receiving programmed stimuli, this material is capable of behaving like organic tissue, but at much faster rates than would be feasible for most known species."  
  
"Aye. So it's more like livin', thinkin' hull," Scotty said. "That kind of thing wud put our self-replicatin' armor repair systems t' shame."  
  
Philippe nodded. " _That was what the sample we recovered indicated._ "  
  
"I wonder." Robert put his hands together. "Could this have anything to do with what happened to the Darglan homeworld? A species advanced enough to make this bio-armor stuff could also make nuclear warheads capable of penetrating to a planet's core."  
  
"The two technologies are not necessarily reliant upon one another," Data pointed out. "But both point to the existence of at least one, perhaps two, advanced civilizations in Universe E5B1."  
  
"Great, I'm liking this place more already," Angel sighed.  
  
"That just leaves us at our current impasse." Robert looked at Julia. "Did Thanh and the team find anything?"  
  
"We know there was a databank down there, and someone removed it," she answered. "Recently, given the state of the storage compartments."  
  
" _Do you think whoever did it is responsible for destroying that bio-armored ship?_ " Madeleine asked.  
  
"We have no facts to prove or disprove that assertion, Captain Laurent." Data looked from her to Robert. "Captain Dale, I would suggest a further study of the planet might find other sites worth attempting to access. While I calculate that further discoveries are low, we have no information on which to determine where the databanks were taken to; our odds of success, though low, are still better than the alternative."  
  
Robert nodded at that. "I agree, Commander Data. Captain." Robert looked to Laurent on the screen. "Let's set up a…"  
  
" _Bridge to Captain Dale_ ," a voice stated; it was Jupap. " _Sir, we're packing up a gravitational distortion forming in nearby space._ "  
  
"What?"  
  
"Look!", Angel called out.  
  
Everyone followed her finger to the window port of the conference room. In the distance, beyond the curve of the dead Darglan homeworld, a point of light was forming. It shined blue for a moment. "Doesn't that look…?", Julia began. She was not the only one to notice the apparent similarity with an interuniversal jump point.  
  
The point suddenly expanded into a swirling vortex of blue color. A single point of light appeared in the middle, becoming a starship that was emerging from the vortex. It was fairly small, no more than 200 meters long, about the size of an attack ship like the _Koenig_ or _Sladen_.  
  
Nobody had to be asked. Everyone rushed from the conference room to the bridge. As they stepped out onto the bridge Jupap stood up from the command chair. "They are hailing," he said.  
  
"On screen," Robert replied. He and Julia got to their chairs just as Ensign Mataran, the Gersallian junior officer acting in relief of Jarod and Jupap, triggered the comm line to open. The viewer activated to show the bridge of the other ship.  
  
The other bridge had a single central command chair with personnel toward the rear manning two stations. The figure sitting in it was in a dark uniform with a vest, or rather something like vestments, over his uniform jacket. A green gem with a gold frame depicting two humanoid figures was attached to the right side of the vest. The wearer was a humanoid species with light skin and a crest of bone on the top of and around the skull. Caterina looked to the screen and said, "The same as on the ship" in a low voice.  
  
" _Unknown vessels, I am Suvall of the_ Anla'shok _, commanding_ White Star _54\. Please identify yourselves._ "  
  
Robert kept his hands on his chair. First contact situations were things he was starting to get used to, but it was always important to remember the basics of them. "Greetings. I'm Captain Robert Dale, commander of the Alliance _Starship Aurora_. You have my greetings on behalf of my people, the nations and species of the United Alliance of Systems."  
  
The alien appraised him quietly. " _I have never heard of your Alliance of Systems. The Human Earth Alliance I have. But they have no ships like yours._ "  
  
 _Huh. Another Alliance. Maybe we should have gone for 'Federation' after all._ Robert nodded. "I understand that, sir. We are not from your universe. Our Alliance possesses interuniversal jump drive technology. We're here on a scientific mission."  
  
" _I see. Do you know anything about the ruins of our sister vessel on the planet?_ "  
  
"Only that it crashed some time before we got here. My condolences for your people on the loss of the crew. We have already removed some of the remains and prepared them for burial. We can turn them over to you if that is your desire."  
  
There was a clear sign of anger, but Suvall clearly had the discipline to restrain it. " _I see. We will take delivery of the remains for identification. May I ask why you are conducting a 'scientific investigation' on a dead planet? The species that lived here was annihilated a thousand years ago._ "  
  
Robert kept his expression neutral. He could understand the point of view of Suvall. They appeared to be grave robbers. He contemplated how much to tell the alien. "The species that used to dwell here, we have found indications of them in our universes, we recently covered the coordinates to this system from what they left behind," Robert said. Not a lie. But he wasn't ready to reveal what the Darglan were just yet. Not when it might cause even more excavation teams to show up. "We know them as Darglan."  
  
" _Yes. They were victims of the previous war with the Shadows._ " Suvall seemed to consider what to say. " _I will recover our dead and see to the disposition of our ship. I request that you not interfere._ "  
  
"Of course not," Robert said. "If I might ask, Suvall, whom do you represent? Your ' _Anla'shok_ '. May I know your species?"  
  
" _I am a Minbari. The_ Anla'shok _\- 'Rangers' in your Human language - are an order of my people devoted to the memory of Valen. We serve as the defenders of the InterStellar Alliance._ " Suvall seemed to consider something. " _If you wish to make contact with our Alliance, I suggest you journey to_ Babylon-5 _and speak with our representatives there._ "  
  
" _Babylon-5_." Robert nodded. "Thank you for this information. If you require any more help, please, ask. My people value the chance to meet new species and cultures."  
  
" _I will consider your offer if it is necessary. Farewell._ " The image on the screen disappeared; they now had a closer look at the _White Star_ vessel, with its prominent weapon emplacements in the nose and on the front of what looked like engine nacelles.  
  
"He was a little standoffish, don't you think?", Julia asked.  
  
"Different culture, maybe." Robert nodded to everyone. "Just keep a gentle eye on him. Set alert status to Code Blue as a precaution, I don't want to make any obvious movements of distrust or hostility, but better that we're on partial alert if anything should happen." Robert stood up. "Commander Andreys, please inform Captain Laurent and Commander King of our situation. I'll be in the ready room preparing a report to Admiral Maran."  
  
"And then?" Julia asked.  
  
"If he and the President agree, I ask Suvall to direct me to _Babylon-5_ ," was his answer.  
  
  
  
  
Meridina arrived in Ledosh's quarters as instructed. Even as she stepped in quietly, she saw he was in an active Council meeting via the IU communications system. "... _our people to war!_ ," a familiar voice was saying. She restrained the sigh she felt forming; it was her father.  
  
" _I concur with_ Mastrash _Karesl_ ," another voice announced. _Mastrash_ Goras, Meridina thought. " _And yet this Council continues to support our people's subordination to the Alliance. What has it brought us to make up for this pain and misery?_ Nothing _, I say!_ "  
  
" _You speak as if this conflict were a simple political affair!_ " a third voice called out. Meridina figured it to be _Mastrash_ Ginram, a younger _Mastrash_ who just made the Council after a lifetime of improving the healing techniques of the _swevyra'se_. " _The Reich is born of incredible darkness. They have slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent colonists these past two months. I refuse to believe that we could still adhere to Swenya's Code if we were to ignore this evil._ "  
  
" _The Code is not so dogmatic as to require us to put our species' future and livelihood at jeopardy!_ " thundered a retort from Goras. " _The Alliance was a mistake…!_ "  
  
Before he could finish an old voice chimed in. " _You have made this argument before,_ Mastrash _Goras. And it was rejected. We have pledged to support the war as a conflict against darkness._ "  
  
"Mastrash _Maklir, it is clear that that_ Mastrash _Ledosh and his pupil are going beyond the bounds of this Council's instructions,_ " Goras said. " _Let us not forget that Meridina is the one who was present for the provocation that started the war. And now she is training one of the Humans in our ways in defiance of the rules of our Order._ "  
  
"Meridina is training Lucy Lucero in the basic use of her _swevyra_ , nothing more," Ledosh said, joining the conversation. "I have witnessed the training personally and vouch for it.""  
  
" _You stand up for your pupil,_ Mastrash _Ledosh, but your objectivity is questionable_ ," Karesl answered. Meridina kept a neutral expression, though her heart ached at this continued reminder of her father's opposition. " _You are pushing this interpretation of the Prophecy of the Dawn. Would it not fit your assertion of the Dawn Bearers having arisen to have some of their number wield strong_ swevyra _?_ "  
  
" _Not to mention the use of this Council's influence in regards to…_ "  
  
"Mastrash _Goras, I have heard enough on that matter,_ " Maklir growled. " _The time has come for a vote on your proposal. May all vote as their_ swevyra _guides them._ "  
  
Meridina watched quietly as the vote was held. Ledosh voted against, and he was in the majority again. She could imagine the sour look of disappointment on her father's face.  
  
" _The motion is defeated_ ," declared Maklir, who had not voted. " _This Council meeting is adjourned._ Mi rake sa swevyra iso."  
  
"Mi rake sa swevyra iso," the Council intoned over the speaker. Ledosh joined them as well before cutting the line. He turned and faced her. A weary look on his face could not be hidden. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."  
  
"They give you further trouble?"  
  
"Karesl and Goras are proving a most effective pair," Ledosh sighed. "They have yet to break the solid majority I have built in support of the our interpretation of events. But I fear that failure may yet lie on our horizon. If Goras and Ledosh find you are training Lucy Lucero in our ways, the Council will turn on you. You might face ejection or worse." He looked to her. "If you wish to be more cautious, that would be understandable. Even preferable." There was concern in his eyes and in his heart. "You have been my best student, Meridina. I do not wish to lose you."  
  
"You will not, _Mastrash_. I promise you that." Meridina smiled warmly at him. "And in time, even my father will see that this is the time Swenya spoke of."  
  
Ledosh drew in a sigh at that. She was so eager, not knowing what her desires truly entailed. But he could say nothing about it. "It would be gratifying, yes," he admitted. "But for now, we have other work. I take it Captain Dale wishes to commence further talks with this Minbari?"  
  
"He wanted you to be ready for the morning," Meridina said. "He will beam over to _Challenger_ with you and others to examine their findings and options."  
  
"Of course. Let him know I will be ready by 0600."  
  
  
  
  
For over a year, Robert had been looking forward to visiting one of the _Discovery_ -class ships, if just to see how they adapted the ships' design from his _Aurora_.  
  
Now he was materializing at one of the Transporter Stations on _Challenger_. Captain Laurent was waiting for him and for those coming with him; Data, Cat, Jarod, Ledosh, and her brother.  
  
"Madeleine." Laurent greeted his sister warmly.  
  
"Patrice. Thank God you are okay." She stepped up and embraced her younger brother. "I was worried about you while _Aurora_ was in the war."  
  
"It was close," Laurent said. "Sometimes too close. But my pilots and I have come through every time."  
  
Madeleine wiped a tear from her eye. She looked to Robert. "Captain. Welcome to the _Challenger_."  
  
He accepted her offered hand. "I've always wanted to see one of these ships," he admitted. "A shame there's no time for a tour."  
  
"I know. All business, then?"  
  
The station operator looked up. "Captain, _Sladen_ is ready for transport."  
  
"Of course." Madeleine Laurent led them off of the station's transport pad.

A moment later white light appeared and Commander King's austere form coalesced from within it. She stood at attention. "Captain Laurent. Permission to come aboard?"  
  
"Permission granted, Commander King," she answered. "If you will all follow me? Lieutenant Duwala is waiting for us in the conference room."  
  
Captain Laurent led them through the _Challenger_ 's halls and to the nearest lift. The bridge was clearly based on _Aurora_ 's, although it turned secondary tactical into a multi-function operations station and the coloring was more blue and green than _Aurora_ 's bridge. Robert was surprised to see a Drekara, a purple-skinned silver-horned race from L2M1 that had remained outside of the Alliance for the time being, sitting at operations. There were two on _Aurora_ , true, but they were among the hundred or so civilian personnel that had volunteered to work on his ship as crew support or science specialists. This one was in Stellar Navy uniform and was at Operations.  
  
There was little time to comment further, though. They went on into the ship's conference room. Robert shook hands with Philippe before taking his seat beside Laurent, opposite of her first officer Commander Nasira Fanous, another old face from the Facility days. "Hello again," she said to them in an Arabic accent.  
  
"Good to see you," Cat replied, smiling at her. "Congratulations."  
  
Nasira nodded by way of thanks.  
  
"We're expecting a call from Admiral Maran," Robert said. "But before that, we need to cover what we've learned so far. Commander Data, have you and our science officers discovered any more suitable sites for excavation?"  
  
Data operated the control in front of him to bring up a holographic likeness of the Darglan homeworld. Several points on most of the continents appeared. "Scans indicate there may be surviving structures in these areas buried underground. However, only two of them can be excavated by the means we have at hand. Specialized machinery will be required to safely access the other sites."  
  
"We can handle those two sites easily," Madeleine said. "What about the _Aurora_?"  
  
"I don't know yet," Robert answered. "I'm not sure we'll be staying, honestly. There's no telling what's in those Darglan databanks that were taken. If making contact with this 'InterStellar Alliance' can get us information on who took them and where, we might be able to do something about it."  
  
"Hopefully nothing diplomatically troublesome, Captain?" King asked primly. "We have one war already."  
  
"Hopefully not," Robert agreed. "Although that brings up the presence of Suvall's ship." He looked to Madeleine. "Since we don't know everything about their capabilities, would you feel comfortable remaining here alone? Or should I detach Commander King's ship to keep watch?"  
  
Madeleine smiled at that. "We can take care of ourselves, Captain, but thank you for the offer."  
  
Robert answered that with a nod of understanding. "Of course." He turned to Ledosh, who was looking out the window at the broken world below. " _Mastrash_?"  
  
For a moment the _Mastrash_ didn't respond. When he did, he looked back to them. "My apologies," he said. "I was simply contemplating the significance of this. My people have writings of the Darglan, histories and memories of their kindness and curiosity. To see their homeworld reduced to this, to know those brilliant people will never again be seen… I can only consider it a terrible blow to the Light. The day these people were destroyed was a day of victory for the forces of Darkness."  
  
"It is horrible to know that a people with such accomplishments were wiped out so brutally," King noted.  
  
"As for the Minbari, I am willing to go over to their ship and discuss the matter with them," Ledosh said. "If they are the ones in possession of this bio-armor technology, it would seem prudent to ensure good relations."  
  
"We can make the offer," Robert began, "but…"  
  
They were interrupted by a tone over the ship comm system. " _Captain, the_ Aurora _is relaying an IU transmission over to us._ "  
  
"Transfer it to us, Mister Packhurst," Captain Laurent said.  
  
Everyone looked to the screen in the wall. Admiral Maran appeared. " _Captains._ Mastrash _. Commander. Good to see you all. I've read your reports. A commendable job done so far, Captain Laurent, Lieutenant Duwala._ "  
  
"We have found two more sites that could be excavated by the _Challenger_ , sir," Madeleine Laurent said. "But we cannot access others."  
  
" _Understood. I'll see about getting an excavation team out. Have your officers send my office a list of possible requirements._ " Maran checked something on his desk. " _As for this_ White Star _ship, their suggestion is one that the President has agreed should be followed up on._ Mastrash _Ledosh, we leave the diplomatic first contact up to you. Obviously we would enjoy learning what happened to the databanks taken from this world. We are prepared to make compensation for access to the data._ "  
  
"I understand. I will do what I can, Admiral."  
  
" _Captain Dale, I entrust this mission to you as well. Time is of the essence, as you are no doubt aware._ " Maran put his hands together on the desk. " _You must depart immediately for_ Babylon-5."  
  
  
  
  
 _Ship's Log: ASV Aurora; 16 September 2641. We are currently en route to the space station_ Babylon-5 _to commence diplomatic first contact with the species of this universe. While our primary goal is to establish the basis for peaceful relations, it will also provide us an opportunity to find out about the unknown excavators who took the Darglan technology._  
  
  
Robert and Julia were ready when King arrived in the conference room with Lieutenant Caldwell. After these past several weeks they found they were starting to get a little used to not having these weekly meetings with Zack and Lieutenant Apley; nevertheless this was a reminder of a friend no longer present with them.  
  
"Cross-training has been a success," Caldwell noted to them. The young officer was not dissimilar from his austere commander, if a little warmer in demeanor. He was looking over notes and reports. "And your engineering crews managed to deal with that issue we were having with the warp field generators."  
  
"We have people who served on _Koenig_ so they're familiar with those systems," Julia said. "What about your launch readiness results?"  
  
"Readiness in an emergency is now at fifteen seconds from the alert," Caldwell said proudly.  
  
"That's good." Robert nodded slightly. He grinned at the young officer and couldn't help but notice that Caldwell was probably just a couple of years younger than they were, and they were certainly closer to him in age than they were to King. " _Koenig_ 's record was twelve seconds. Give another few weeks and you'll be beating that one."  
  
That seemed to get a reaction out of King. "I look forward to the challenge. as does my crew." She eyed Robert steadily, as if daring him to make another similar statement. He got the feeling he'd touched a nerve.  
  
Julia noticed the same thing. "Yes. Now, about your torpedo locker…"  
  
  
  
  
When their meeting was over, King stepped up to Julia. "Commander, a word?"  
  
"Of course." Julia led her over to the side of the room, beside the empty wall across from the windows, while Robert and Caldwell left. "What may I do for you, Commander?"  
  
"I'm curious, Commander Andreys. Yesterday Captain Dale brought Commander Laurent to the meeting on the _Challenger_."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"And yet there was no need for the commander of _Aurora_ 's fighters to be present," King pointed out. "The discussions were all scientific and diplomatic. The only apparent reason to bring him was because his sister is the Captain of the _Challenger_. Doesn't that strike you as inappropriate?"  
  
Julia crossed her arms. "To a degree, I can definitely see that. The Captain, well… it's family. A brother wanting to see his sister? That's a wish he lives with every day. One he knows will never come true."  
  
"Still, it was a clear breach of protocol, Commander."  
  
Julia smiled. It was a thin smile from thought and slight amusement. "You'll find, Commander King, that things can be a bit less… by the book around here. I'm sure it'll take some getting used to."  
  
"I see. Well, thank you for discussing the matter with me, Commander," King said. "I will be off now."  
  
"I'll see you around, Commander," Julia replied pleasantly.  
  
  
  
  
Jarod entered the Lookout alongside Lucy. "And what do you want to do about…?" she began.  
  
"We can discuss that later," he assured her. "Do you smell that?"  
  
Lucy sniffed the air. Her stomach rumbled involuntarily. "Oh. Sausage stew. Hargert has to have life force powers of his own, it's the only way to explain how he could know."  
  
"I'm surprised he doesn't just make tubs of the stuff," Jarod remarked. He looked around for a table. Many were filled with junior officers and senior crew, but there was one with a couple of empty seats. He walked up. "Do you mind if we have a seat?" he asked the occupants.  
  
"I've got no problems with that." Shepard looked to the other seat. "Worf?"  
  
The Klingon seemed to consider his response. "I have no objection," he finally stated.  
  
"Don't mind him." Shepard smiled. "He's just having a bad day."  
  
Lucy and Jarod were sitting by this time. "Are we going to regret it with the next exercise?" Lucy asked cautiously.  
  
"No, I don't think so."  
  
"What is wrong, Commander?" Jarod asked Worf. "You seem upset."  
  
Worf eyed Jarod and Lucy with consternation. "I received a report from my brother," he admitted. "Forces from our House were involved in the retaking of one of your colonies. Altaplano."  
  
"So… we won. Then why…"  
  
"Our warriors found graves. There were no living colonists left. Just bodies piled into graves."  
  
Lucy frowned. "Well, there goes my appetite."  
  
"I respect the reason I was sent to train you," Worf said, "But I am tired of diplomatic missions when there is a great foe to fight."  
  
"Some of us feel the same way." Lucy looked at Shepard. "What about you, Commander?"  
  
"I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm in another universe preparing to fight honest to God living Nazis," she answered. "My mother told me stories sometimes, back when I was growing up."  
  
"Well, I suppose it'd be like if we were preparing to fight the French and Indians from the French and Indian War," Lucy noted.  
  
"There are historians who argue that events from the time of video technology being available remain in the cultural conscious longer than those that preceded that capability," Jarod said. "People from any century will remember the Nazis more easily than they'll remember the Mongols or the Crusades. At least for some cultures."  
  
"That is a Human point of view," Worf said. "Klingons do not need video to remember the deeds of our great heroes."  
  
"It's cultural even among Humans." Lucy indicated a nearby table with junior officers. "Ensign al-Rashad told me that her parents still celebrate the anniversary of Saladin taking Jerusalem from the Christians."  
  
"It's where you come from that can matter. When it comes to Nazis, I'm half-Jewish myself," Shepard noted. "Or maybe it was a quarter. I'll have to ask my mother."  
  
"Your mother's where you got that from?"  
  
Shepard nodded at Lucy. "We're from the old Canadian provinces of North America. At least my parents were. I spent my childhood on space stations and starships. My parents had signed up for the Systems Alliance Navy before I was born."  
  
"So your Mom and Dad are…"  
  
"My mom's posted on a dreadnought." Shepard frowned. "My Dad… we were setting up a family home on Mindoir. It was something for when Mom finally retired. And then the Batarians attacked the colony in a slave raid. Dad pushed me into a hidden panic room in our prefab home unit before getting his rifle out." A pained look filled her green eyes. "We found his body after the attack."  
  
"My condolences," Lucy said. "I… never knew my father. And I lost my mother a few years ago."  
  
"Your father died with honor," Worf noted.  
  
Shepard gave Worf an intent look. "He still died. And I was just sixteen."  
  
"I was six in Human terms when I lost my parents," Worf admitted candidly. "The Romulans killed my parents on Khitomer. I was adopted by a Human from the Starfleet vessel that responded to the attack."  
  
By now it was clear to everyone that Jarod's face had become a mask of thought. "I still haven't found my parents."  
  
"So." Lucy sighed. "Between the four of us, we have… three biological parents still alive?"  
  
"I hope," Jarod muttered. A pained look came to his eye.  
  
Lucy could sense that they had touched a sore point. Even with their victory over the Centre earlier in the year, it hadn't brought Jarod any closer to finding his family. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Jarod. You'll find them. You've got all that data, there's got to be something in it, right?"  
  
"I haven't had time to go through it in a while," he revealed. "Not with everything going on."  
  
"But you will," Lucy urged. "Don't worry about it."  
  
There was silence at the table for several seconds. "Greetings, everyone," a cheerful voice said. It was Albert, carrying with him plates of lunch-meat sandwiches, potato crisps, and bowls of steaming sausage stew. "Please, enjoy your lunch."  
  
After taking a bite of the stew and swallowing it, Shepard grinned again. "You people are going to spoil me. We would kill for galley cooks this good back in our Alliance."  
  
"Hargert spoils us all, Commander," Lucy pointed out with a wide grin.  
  
  
  
  
Everyone was on the bridge for their imminent arrival. Ledosh and Meridina arrived last and took up a position behind the command seats. "We're coming up on the coordinates provided by Suvall," Locarno said.  
  
"Here goes another first contact," Julia said. "Nervous for this one?"  
  
"A little," Robert admitted. "I always am."  
  
"Look on the good side," Angel said from tactical. "You don't have to worry about them having a big swastika painted on the hull."  
  
"That was definitely one of our most memorable first contacts," Jarod agreed.  
  
"Dropping out of warp in five… four… three..."  
  
At the end of Locarno's countdown the _Aurora_ 's warp field disengaged. The ship slowed back to sublight speeds. In front of them was a brown, lifeless planet. "Magnifying," Jarod said.  
  
In orbit there was a structure, basking in the light of Epsilon Eridani. The hull was mostly blue with silver; it was a long object with two long extensions on one end and an extended, non-rotating section on the other. The rest of the station was built around a rotating cylinder. "A five mile long O'Neill cylinder!" Caterina exclaimed with giddiness. "Isn't it awesome!?"  
  
"It would appear the station does not have an artificial gravity field," Data remarked. He was sitting at one of the auxiliary stations in the back of the bridge beside the deck plan MSD. "I am detecting fusion-based power sources."  
  
"We're being hailed, audio only," Jarod said.  
  
"Put them on."  
  
" _This is Babylon Control_ , Aurora, _please proceed to the following location for station-keeping. President Sheridan is waiting to receive you._ "  
  
"I have our coordinates," Locarno stated. "Maneuvering to take up position within beaming range of the station."  
  
Robert looked to Ledosh. "It looks like Suvall called ahead to warn them we were coming."  
  
"Indeed." Ledosh tilted his head slightly. "It behooves us, then, to not keep him waiting. How do you wish to proceed?"  
  
Robert thought on that. "As usual, it's probably better not to spook them. We'll take a shuttle over. Lucy, Meridina?"  
  
Lucy stood from Engineering and Meridina nodded. "Of course."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation of the Darglan Homeworld leads the Aurora crew into contact with the native species of Universe E5B1 and a trip to their most important space station: Babylon-5.

Lucy took the piloting duties for bringing their shuttle in. The docking area was a buzz of activity as they came in. Dockworkers in special EVA machines were busy shifting around freight crates in zero-G. A passenger shuttle from a starliner near the station came in in front of them and veered off to what was likely a general docking terminal for such craft. The station's traffic controllers had, however, directed them elsewhere.

When they arrived there was a small honor guard waiting for them. The _Aurora_ crew recognized the "Ranger" uniform they had seen on Suvall while others had a blue-gray uniform with the number 5 on the arms with a target symbol. Leading them was a man with curly dark hair. Standing near him was a woman with dark brown hair wearing a deep blue uniform with brown shoulder epaulets and a colored bar under a stylized E-A symbol.

Two figures stood side-by-side among the guard. A Human man near middle age, with a well-trimmed beard the same wheat color as his hair, was in a dark blue business jacket with a white dress shirt underneath and matching dark blue pants. At his side was a woman who looked to be from Suvall's species, having the same bone crest on her head, but with flowing black hair around it. Her choice of clothes seemed a cross between the modest dresses Robert could remember from Sunday church and robes.

Ledosh took the lead. He bowed his head. "I am Ledosh, _Mastrash_ of the Order of Swenya of Gersal, named Diplomatic Emissary of President Henry Morgan of the United Alliance of Systems. This is Captain Robert Dale, commander of the Alliance _Starship Aurora_ ; Lieutenant Commander Meridina of Gersal, Captain Dale's Chief of Security and a Knight of the Order of Swenya; and Lieutenant Lucilla Lucero, also of _Aurora_."

The answer was a nod. "I'm President John Sheridan of the InterStellar Alliance. This is Vice-President Delenn, my wife." He gestured to the uniformed woman. "Captain Elizabeth Lochley, station commander, and Station Security Chief Zack Allen. It's my pleasure to welcome you to _Babylon-5_." Sheridan's voice was warm and welcoming, and he spoke with the air Robert attributed with commanders like Maran, Sisko, Picard, and Anderson, or the late Admiral Lithgon. "I must admit that we've been curious ever since Ranger Suvall reported your presence. Other universes and interuniversal travel sounds, well…" Sheridan chuckled. "...rather farfetched."

"I used to believe the same," Robert answered.

It was Delenn who spoke next. "Suvall mentioned that you found traces of the Darglan species in other universes. I would be interested to know anything you can tell us about them. They were among the first victims of the previous war with the Shadows."

"We have some understanding of what they were like," Ledosh said. "Millennia ago they made contact with my species, the Gersallians. Though some of our records of that era were lost to internal upheaval, we still remember something of them."

Zack Allen raised a hand. "So, wait… you're not Human?"

"No, we are not," Meridina answered politely. "It seems to be the will of life to have made our species resemble your own so closely."

"The universe has its own will," Delenn observed. "Shall we go? We have a conference room ready."

"Of course."

 

 

 

The initial conference lasted some time. It served as an exchange of basic information; the status of E5B1 on the side and the wider Multiverse on the other. And, of course, the Darglan… and why the _Aurora_ had gone to their homeworld.

Chief Allen had not joined them for the meeting, leaving Sheridan, Delenn, and Lochley to react. "So, you found a universe with a history where Nazi Germany conquered the world." Lochley's voice betrayed disbelief, although they had already shown some of the relevant records. "I think I might have just left."

"That option was considered, but we had already put much effort into the colonies there," Ledosh explained. "And there were… concerns about appearing weak."

"I understand that." Sheridan gave them a nod. "What concerns me is that these people might be on the verge of finding this Darglan technology you use. The kind of threat that would pose to our universe would be unacceptable."

"That gets us to one of the reasons we came," Robert said. "We've discovered that there have been prior excavations of the Darglan Homeworld."

"Yes." Delenn nodded. "Although we have tried to prevent other species from doing so, there have been times when we were otherwise occupied. Especially as of late, with the Shadow War and other conflicts taking our attention."

"Unfortunately, an excavation some time ago took what appeared to be Darglan computer databanks," Robert explained. "They could have data on them that we could use. And there's no telling what's on them."

Lochley was examining a starchart. "So this is the planet you're talking about?", she asked.

Robert nodded. "Yes."

"And it doesn't have a jumpgate?"

"If you're referring to those four structures you've got arrayed together near the station, then no, it doesn't have one."

Delenn and Sheridan were looking over the map too. "That area of space is fairly remote," Sheridan observed. "It's too far from most of the Alliance races to explore."

"A ship going out there would have to possess its own jump drive. Now, for a civilian expedition ship with its own jump drive, well, those things are expensive. I can't imagine such a ship having a lot of range or room for the excavation supplies they'd need. They would need a safe port of call nearby. And since this is mostly Minbari-held space around this radius, you can be sure they stayed away. And that means the only viable port of call for them…" Lochley tapped the map. "...is here."

"So you believe this group came through here?", Meridina asked.

"This place is a magnet for trouble," Lochley insisted. "I'll have Allen assist you."

"Thank you for your understanding and kindness." Ledosh nodded his head. "I will leave Captain Dale and his crew to that investigation while we continue the arrangement of permanent diplomatic relations."

"Of course, sir," Robert said.

"We may need you to relocate, then," Sheridan admitted. "We're scheduled to leave for the new Alliance capital on Minbar in a few days."

"Ah. I understand." Ledosh nodded and looked to Robert. "Captain, depending upon the course of your investigation, I may need to leave your vessel. I believe I can do the greatest good by remaining with President Sheridan."

"If you need anything from your quarters on the ship, I'll have them brought to you," Robert said.

"Thank you. Now, to move on to other elements of this discussion…"

 

 

 

Robert decided to linger a little after he left the meeting. _Babylon-5_ was an interesting place to be, and the sight could be just as stunning as some of those on the Citadel. He rode one of the trams that went along the inside of the cylinder, allowing him to look out at the awesome sight of the station's spinning interior.

Now he was standing on a walkway above the station's bustling market, the Zocalo. Aliens of various species jostled and fussed and haggled with each other at their kiosks and stands and full shop spaces. One humanoid species had tentacles over what looked to be their mouth; another had fish fins on their heads, and yet another were bipeds with insectoid helmets.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?"

Robert turned his head. President Sheridan had walked up beside him. "Mister President? They're done already?"

"Oh, no. Delenn and your Master Ledosh are still handling the diplomatic details." Sheridan looked out at the market and smiled. "It's quite the view. I've always liked it up here."

"It is," Robert agreed. "I've been to other stations before. But there's something about this one…"

"I've lived here for nearly four years. This station is special." Sheridan seemed to consider what he was going to ask next. There was a look of thought on his face and a glimmer of curiosity in his eye. "Do you know which race is which, yet?"

"Aside from the Minbari, I don't know any of them," he admitted.

"Well, to start off, that one is a Pak'ma'ra." Sheridan indicated the one with the tentacles hanging over its mouth. "It's always best to stay a foot away when talking to one."

"Why?"

"Because, Captain, they're carrion eaters."

Robert blinked. "You mean they eat dead…"

"...everything," Sheridan said. "And I do mean everything." Sheridan pointed out the fish fin species. "Those are Abbai. And those…" He pointed to the ones with the insectoid helmets. "...are Gaim."

"A lot of species," Robert said. "We only have three in our Alliance."

"I suppose they don't all resemble Humans like your Gersallian friends?"

Robert chuckled at that. "Not at all."

"Good. It can be a pain in the neck sometimes, dealing with all of the different cultures and points of view, but in the end... you get used to the pains and enjoy the diversity."

"Do you do this for any new visitor who shows up?", Robert asked.

"Oh, hell no," Sheridan laughed. "I was coming up here anyway."

Robert realized why. "One last look?", he asked.

Sheridan nodded. "One last look." He leaned against the railing. "Enjoy it while you're here, Captain. Otherwise you'll never know what you're missing."

 

 

 

Meridina and Lucy accompanied Captain Lochley to the station's security offices. Chief Allen was present, as was a blond-haired woman in a brown and gray suit. "Tessa Holloran," she introduced herself. "I'm the new Minister of Covert Intelligence for the Alliance."

"Minister." Meridina nodded respectfully. "I thank you for your assistance."

"Don't thank me yet," the woman replied. "I just got into this job. I'm not sure how much I can help you."

"So far we've tracked dozens of ships capable of forming their own jump points." Allen pointed to a list on his nearby screen. "Any one of them could have gotten to that part of the Minbari frontier."

Lucy looked at the list. A thought occurred to her. "How many of them could destroy one of your _White Star_ ships?"

For a moment there was no reply. "Wait, what?", Allen asked.

Holloran seemed to get what she was referring to. "You mean, could they have destroyed _White Star_ 58."

"It crashed on the planet for a reason," Lucy pointed out. "What if they caught the excavators? I got the feeling the Minbari don't care for people who go hunting for stuff from the Darglan homeworld."

"Well, those ships aren't invincible," Allen said. "Although with civilian expedition ships I find it hard to believe."

"Not if they're carrying hidden weapons." Holloran was now looking over the list and the specific ship types. "I can think of several ways to do it. A hidden plasma cannon compartment in the hull, for instance. Then they just needed to lure them in. You said _White Star_ 54 is investigating the crashed ship?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll have to give them a call. They might have recovered data."

Holloran left. "So." Allen looked to them. "This 'other universes' thing, how does that work?"

"Um. Well, it punches a hole through the fabric of reality and allows us to go through it." Lucy shrugged. "Anything more technical and I'll have to call Caterina to explain it. And she'll probably spend more time pestering you with questions about all of the alien species on the station or how the station's systems work."

"Ah. Alright." Allen nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer. "And how did that thing work… where you didn't use the jump gate or a jump point?"

"Warp drive. You use subspace to create a field of warped real-space around your ship so you can propel yourself to faster than light."

"Sounds more convenient than hyperspace jumpgates, then. You should be happy your excavators didn't have it." Allen looked back to his screens. "You know, depending on how much time they've had to sell this stuff, you probably won't see it. There are all sorts of groups and species and people out there that would pay big credits for goods like that."

"Maybe so, Chief Allen. But the attempt must be made."

"Just giving you a fair head's up."

 

 

 

After his return to the _Aurora_ Robert went to the ready room office off the bridge and prepared his report of the day to Admiral Maran, primarily concerning the first contact. He included his feelings and observations on the ISA and the species it contained. As for his impressions on Sheridan…

...well, he had to admit he was impressed. Sheridan had that air of command about him. He was confident without being arrogant. The people on the station, regardless of their species, were supporters. Delenn seemed to compliment him well; she reminded Robert of Meridina and Ledosh with her quiet, willful demeanor and contemplative outlook.

After a chime at the door Robert looked up. "Come in."

Julia, of course, stepped in. "I have our new personnel report. We managed to get personnel shuffled to cover that shortage in the support staff."

"That's good. I know we've been putting some stress on them even without the combat situations."

"Until we can finally get trained replacements, we'll have to hope that arrangement holds out." Julia took a seat opposite from him. Through the window _Babylon-5_ was spinning quietly. Epsilon 3 was now between the station and the system's star so the station was now lit up against the night-side of the planet below. "Will we be here long enough to send people over for shore leave?"

"Maybe. They know about our transporter technology now, but we'll need to make sure we send anyone over into their customs area. Just to prevent problems."

"Leo wants to go over and check out their medical facilities," she continued. "With so many species to care for he's curious about them. And he thinks anything he sees over there can come in handy if we start getting even more species in the Alliance and on the crew."

"I'm all for it." Robert checked over the report Julia had handed him. "I see we're still about fifty crew short."

"Those new transfers we got before we went off to Slavia were offset by having half that amount transferred off to other posts," Julia explained. "We're still manned sufficiently, though. There's no need to worry about having things stop working."

"Good. I have a feeling we'll need to be in top shape soon."

An electronic tone, sounding like a warbling with a beep at the end, came from Robert's multidevice. "Dale here," he said into it.

" _Captain._ " It was Meridina on the other end. " _We may have found the excavating vessel._ "

"Excellent." He exchanged a confident grin with Julia. "I'll get a staff meeting ready in an hour. I'll see you there."

" _We will be there._ ," she confirmed.

 

 

 

The command staffs of the _Aurora_ and _Sladen_ were seated together in the conference room. The main screen had Halloran and Captain Lochley displayed. A secondary screen showed the image of a fairly-sized starship with a central rotating area. " _This is the_ Balboa," explained Lochley. " _She's a survey vessel for Interplanetary Expeditions._ "

" _IPX has been quiet about the_ Balboa _'s recent activities," Halloran continued at that point. "Several weeks ago they put in to_ Babylon-5 _to replenish their stores and offload findings. Whatever they took out they marked as miscellaneous findings and stored on the station. A week ago another ship with clearance loaded the crates_ Balboa _left and departed immediately._ "

"Huh." Julia raised a finger to indicate she wanted to speak. "Wouldn't that put it right around the time that your ship got shot down over the Darglan Homeworld?"

" _It is_ ," Lochley confirmed.

"It would appear that this organization is involved in many, how do you say, 'shady' dealings," Meridina revealed to her shipmates.

" _They're effectively working for Earthforce,_ " Holloran revealed. " _They've been providing samples of lost alien technology for Earth Dome to study for years. Especially after the Minbari War._ "

"I don't suppose there's any hope of buying it back from them, is there?", Robert asked.

Lochley shook her head. " _Highly unlikely_."

"Then… what do we do?"

Lochley cleared her throat. " _I… think I should step out._ " She turned and left the range of the video recorder.

Holloran kept watching in one direction until there was the faint sound of an electronic door sliding shut. " _Captain Lochley is an Earthforce officer. It's best if she doesn't get mixed up in this._ "

"I have a feeling, Minister, that you're about to ask us to do something shady as well," Robert said.

" _In a manner of speaking, I suppose._ " Holloran tapped a key on her console. " _I'm sending you all of the information I have on the ship that picked up the things_ Balboa _dropped off. It's called the_ Pedicarus _. It's been chartered from Akdor. They're a neutral species but they have strong ties to Earth._ "

"You think this Akdorian ship is being used to smuggle the Darglan technology?"

" _I think the Akdorian ship is actually an Earth vessel used for covert operations_ ," Holloran said. " _Thankfully, Mister Garibaldi left me with an intact network of informants and agents to go with my own. My contacts confirm the_ Pedicarus _is currently in the Venir system, not far from the Darglan Homeworld. My guess is they've got something to pick up from another excavation team before heading back to a drop point with what they've got._ "

"And you think we can intercept them and take it back," Robert mused.

" _I never said that_ ," she said. " _What you do is your business. I provide intel, nothing more. Good luck_."

"Is it just me," Angel said aloud, "Or were we just advised to go steal this stuff back?"

"I think we were." Jarod nodded.

"It's a shaky line," Julia said. "On the one hand, it's essentially piracy."

Angel nodded. "And on the other hand, these people killed an entire crew of Rangers to try and keep their activities a secret. It makes you wonder what else they could be up to."

"Right." Robert nodded. "Is this something… can I even bring this to Maran's attention?"

"I think it ill-advised to speak a word of this to our superiors," King answered.

Before Robert could ask her to elaborate, Jarod spoke up. "If you do…" Jarod put his hands on the table. "...then you make him complicit. In fact, it could be seen as something the Alliance government sanctioned. This universe's Earth could declare war on us."

"And it might not endear us to their allies either," Julia noted.

"And if we don't…" Robert sighed. "...then we lose any hope of finding out what was in those databanks." He looked to King. "Commander King, I'm open to suggestions on this matter."

"I suggest that you remember that in time of war, the law falls silent."

"In other words…", Julia began.

"In other words, Commander Andreys, sometimes you have to make a hard choice if you want to win the war," King noted. "You can't rely on principle or your own sense of ethics." She gave them a hard look. "Sometimes you even have to make a sacrifice of them."

Robert frowned at that. "I think I get what you mean. Better to do this than risk us not finding that Facility before the Reich does."

"Exactly."

"But." Robert shook his head. "We don't even know those databanks have what we need. If we do this… we'll be committing an act of piracy on a possibility it might help. I'm not sure I want to go that far."

"Then maybe you should reconsider your career choice, Captain." King noticed that the others were giving her hard looks and sighed. "I don't like it any more than you do. The honor of the Alliance Stellar Navy must be maintained. But that honor will not shield our worlds from Reich warships attacking us with interuniversal drives. I'd rather be guilty than terrified. My crew feels the same way."

Robert swallowed and looked to his friends and colleagues. "Well?"

"Sometimes, we don't get to be the good guys, I guess," Locarno sighed.

"It's not my call," Leo mumbled. "But I don't like it.."

"I'm with Commander King," Jarod said.

"Same here," Angel added.

"I... " Cat swallowed. "I don't know."

"A bloody terrible choice if ye ask me," Scotty mumbled. "But if it has t' be done… better t' do it."

"The intent of an act is the important part. Darkness comes from that intent as much as the act itself," was Meridina's contribution.

That left Julia. She looked to Robert and nodded slowly. "We can at least investigate," she suggested. "We can send Commander King and the _Sladen_."

"And Jarod and Caterina can go along to help identify any signs of Darglan tech?"

Julia nodded. "Send Lucy too."

Robert drew in a breath. "Alright. I… suppose we can do that, at least." He looked to King. "Commander, I'm leaving this mission in your hands. It'll ask too many questions if _Aurora_ herself departs. Head to this Venir system and investigate. If you feel you have a shot, and you can confirm the Darglan technology is aboard… then retrieve it."

"Of course, Captain." King nodded. She stood. "We're ready to depart immediately."

"What will we tell people about the _Sladen_ 's launch?", Angel asked.

Julia's reply was immediate. "We're supposed to get a check-in from _Challenger_ within the hour. We delay the launch until then and say they requested reinforcement."

"Right." Robert nodded to King. "Good luck, Commander."

"Thank you, Captain. I shall endeavor to complete this mission satisfactorily," was her reply.

 

 

 

Cat arrived at the walkway to the _Sladen_ 's dock entrance a moment before Jarod. She had her bag of essential day-to-day things slung over a shoulder, the same as him. "So." She breathed. "Maybe this goes better than the last time we did something sneaky?"

"Let's hope," Jarod said.

Lucy rounded the corner with her own bag and Meridina behind her.

And behind her was Commander Shepard, in full combat gear, duffel bag slung over one arm and equipment and equipment bag over the other.

Jarod and Cat looked at the three. "Um… she's going too?", Cat asked. Her voice was almost a squeak from disbelief.

"Commander Andreys and Meridina suggested you might need the help," Shepard said.

"If something happens, though, your people could get some of the blame…"

She cut Jarod off. "My orders were to do whatever I needed to help you secure that Facility against the Reich. If that means getting that databank back from a bunch of state-sanctioned pirates? That comes with the N7 on the suit."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Jarod admitted. He checked the time. "Commander King is set to launch in the next five minutes. We should get going."

"This is going to be interesting," Lucy mused as the four boarded the _Sladen_.

 

 

 

Robert and Julia were on the bridge observing as _Sladen_ launched. The profile of the _Trigger_ -class attack ship fit the _Koenig_ so well they could almost confuse the two. "Do you think we're making the right call?", Robert asked her.

When Julia looked at him her eyes, normally so vibrant and clear in their light green color, he could see the same doubts he had. "I don't know," she admitted. "Whoever these people are, we know they're willing to kill. That might work for us, if they don't want things made public.."

"...but it could also work against us." Robert nodded. "Yeah."

On the screen the _Sladen_ jumped to warp.

 

 

 

Leo decided he liked _Babylon-5_.

He had been beamed in at the dock and gone through customs, as standard, and from there it was off to the commercial areas. The number of species to be found, the vibrant thrum of life, gave the station a feel that was lacking in places like Harris Station, or even Arcturus.

One of the Narn in station security directed him to the Medlabs. They weren't very busy at the moment, it seemed, although there were a few patients around.

"You're from the _Aurora_ , I'm assuming?", someone asked, a female voice with an English accent.

A woman in a light blue suit emerged from an office area by the door. Her dark hair was brushed into a professional-looking hairstyle and complemented the cocoa-brown color of her complexion. Leo noted the Staff of Hermes insignia on the suit; some things truly did not change. He grinned and nodded. "Doctor Leonard Gillam."

"Doctor Lillian Hobbs." She offered her hand. "Chief of Medlab. Well, soon to be, I should say. Doctor Franklin doesn't officially hand his position over until tomorrow. What can I do for you, Doctor Gillam?"

Leo pulled a digital pad from his uniform pocket and handed it to her. "I was hoping you might have the means to synthesize some of these components?"

She looked it over, reading the chemical formulas that would look like numbers and chemical names to the uninitiated. "What is this for? I don't think I've seen a combination quite like this."

"It's for the Dorei on our crew," Leo explained. "There's a case of Andrili influenza going through our Dorei crew. This is a treatment to suppress the virus until their immune systems can defeat it. Unfortunately, I ran out of the medicine weeks ago and with the war the fleet quartermaster hasn't replenished my stock yet. And I'm short on these three compounds to make my own."

"Hrm… let me see." Hobbs went to her computer and punched in the necessary information. "I believe we have enough of each in the quantities you need. My facilities can make the treatment for you if you'd like."

"I don't want to impose, our biologist contingent is more than capable…" Seeing Hobbs' bemused look, Leo sighed. "Alright. Sure. And keep the formula, who knows when you'll start having Dorei around here as well."

"That will be a sight," Hobbs agreed. She typed in the order. "I'm sending the order to our pharmacists now. It will take them some time to make the treatment. A few hours, certainly. Would you like to wait?"

Leo smiled at that. "I cleared my schedule just in case. I've still got more of the station to see."

"Just stay out of Brown Sector and you'll be fine."

The door swished open behind Leo. He turned and saw another man enter. His skin tone was closer to Hobbs' than Leo's, and he was wearing the same uniform. He looked at Leo and for a moment showed confusion. But that quickly cleared. "You're from that other Alliance that arrived?", he asked.

Leo nodded and offered a hand. "Doctor Leonard Gillam."

That hand was accepted. "Doctor Stephen Franklin. A pleasure to meet you." Franklin looked to Hobbs. "Doctor, I was just coming by to make sure everything was going smoothly."

"Well, aside from all the bruised egos that you picked me to take over…" Hobbs grinned with amusement. "Things are getting along well, I'd say."

"Well, I'm sure they'll get used to it." Franklin turned to Leo again. "Doctor, did you need anything?"

"Oh, Doctor Hobbs has that handled," Leo said. "I was just about to tour the station a little while I wait for everything to be done."

"Good. What do you think of it so far?"

"Lively and interesting," Leo answered. "I'm guessing after a while you get used to it, though."

"Oh, you might be surprised." Franklin chuckled. "This place can still surprise me sometimes, and I've been here for almost five years." He looked over the computer panel by Hobbs and, just as Leo turned to go, looked back up. "Say, are you hungry? Either of you?"

Leo shrugged. "Well, I haven't had lunch yet."

"Neither have I."

"Well, I've found out that being Head of Xenobiological Research gives a pretty good salary. So how about a meal? Because I have to admit that this whole idea of other universes out there, other species we haven't seen and Humanities with different timelines and histories, it's interesting."

Leo considered that easily. "As I told Doctor Hobbs, I cleared my schedule."

"Well, that sounds wonderful." Hobbs stood up from her chair. "I'm all for it."

"Great. Let me finish this and… we're good to go."

Leo followed the two doctors out. He hadn't planned on eating on the station, but given the chance to talk to two physicians of this universe, how could he pass that up?

 

 

 

It had been years since Caterina had last needed to sleep on a ship like the _Koenig_ , or _Sladen_ in this case. She hadn't missed it. And if anything, _Sladen_ was worse than _Koenig_ 's sleeping quarters had ever been.

"Hey." Jarod's voice jolted Cat awake. They had joined Lucy for breakfast the morning after departing _Aurora_. "Are you okay?"

Caterina tried to answer. She had to yawn first, after which it came out. "I didn't sleep well at all."

"Its the bunks," Lucy said. "They're harder than the ones we had on _Koenig_."

"It's not that so much as…" Cat rubbed her arms. "It feels like I'm in a coffin."

"Well, look at it like this." Jarod smirked. "None of us likely got any good rest since we're so used to beds back on _Aurora_."

"Except for Shepard. She was fast asleep." Cat moved her spoon around the bowl of replicated cereal. "And I mean completely asleep."

"That's because I'm used to it." Shepard moved up to their table with a breakfast straight from the replicators. She was wearing a basic duty uniform of the Systems Alliance. "I served on a frigate when I was fresh out of boot, the _Monte Cassino_. We slept in bunks that were basically coffins with a transparent lid."

"Really?" Cat made a face at that thought. "That's harsh."

"Space is at a premium on ships, and frigates have to cram everything into small frames to work. You have to make trade-offs." Shepard looked around. "Honestly, this ship feels more like a warship than your _Aurora_ does."

"The _Aurora_ wasn't built to just be a warship." Jarod took a moment to sip at a cup of orange juice. Also replicated, which was why he had to stop himself from making a face with every drink. "When we filled in her decks and loaded her systems, the idea was a ship that could do multiple missions for our organization, and later for the Alliance."

"From what I read you built that ship in another Facility like the one we're looking for." Shepard emptied a carton of milk into a bowl of cereal at the side of a plate of eggs and bacon. "So if you had one of those yourself, wasn't there a database you could look through to find this other one?"

"We looked for other Facilities back then." Caterina shook her head. "But the computer systems had been wiped of any."

"It was likely a security measure," Jarod pondered.

Lucy finished swallowing and watched Shepard finish a length of bacon. "I thought you were Jewish?"

Shepard smiled thinly at that. "Oh, this? It's replicated, remember? Didn't come from an actual pig. Of course, I've never been very observant anyway. A quarter, after all."

"She has you there." Jarod met Shepard's smile with his own. "Anyway, we'd better finish up breakfast. We should be at Venir soon."

 

 

 

Meridina was ready in the morning when Ledosh was done putting his things together. He insisted on carrying his bag despite her offer to take up the burden. She kept pace with him as they walked to the transporter station nearest his guest quarters. "I am surprised you did not insist on going with this mission on the _Sladen_ ," Ledosh remarked to her.

"I had the feeling that Commander King might feel… uncomfortable," Meridina admitted.

"You believe Lucilla Lucero is ready to work on her own?"

"I believe she can be trusted with her power. Although she is not ready for fighting with her _swevyra_. But that is why I suggested Commander Shepard go as well."

"I see." Ledosh stopped and turned toward her. He sensed no one were about to witness their conversation. "Have you told Captain Dale yet?"

Meridina shook her head. "It does not seem the proper time. He is busy enough running this vessel. I do not wish to complicate his duties further."

"His _swevyra_ is already giving him insights into our potential futures," Ledosh observed. "You may not have a choice, Meridina. He may awaken the full extent of his life's power on his own."

"If that comes about, I will do what I must," Meridina said. "I doubt he will be any more receptive to moving into the temple than Lucy is."

"Yes. I doubt that as well." Ledosh sighed. It would make things easier, and certainly less troublesome for Meridina, if Lucero or potentially Captain Dale would indeed commit to the Order in an open way. A way that would make it possible to ensure their full training in the confines of their traditions and laws. But it was not something that could be forced, and so he said nothing on it.

They resumed their walk to the transporter station. Once through the door Ledosh walked up to the pad. Meridina remained nearby, beside the door. "My best wishes for your trip to Minbar, _Mastrash_. I will keep you informed of further developments."

"Thank you, Commander. _Mi rake sa swevyra iso_."

" _Mi rake sa swevyra iso_."

Meridina remained to watch the transporter send Ledosh away to the station, where he would meet up with Sheridan and Delenn to join them on the _White Star_ ship transporting them to the new capital. It made her happy to see her teacher getting to make himself useful to this new Alliance he had helped construct. Sheridan's Alliance had even more species in it than their own and provided a further example of how the Allied Systems might develop.

With this task done, Meridina departed for her office and a new day of work to come.

 

 

 

Commander King's summons brought everyone to the _Sladen_ 's bridge. "We're arriving at the Venir system," Lieutenant Caldwell informed everyone. "Dropping us out of warp."

The screen shifted to show the change from warp space to normal. A distant garden planet was spinning in the distance. A pinprick of black was set against it. "I'm detecting one ship," said Ensign Skarsgard. Her accent was Norwegian and fairly thick. "It is in geostationary orbit over a ruin."

"Have they detected us?", King asked.

"No sign of any reaction to our arrival," was the reply.

"Lieutenant, prepare a manual weapons lock. Just in case." King turned to the others. "Well, we are here. Commander Jarod, Lieutenant Delgado, Lieutenant Lucero, I am awaiting suggestions on how to sneak you aboard? If we transport you, it will require decloaking and we will be spotted."

Lucy got a nod from Jarod. "We take a portable transporter set down to the other side of the planet," Lucy answered. "And beam onto their ship from there."

"You mean by shuttle, I presume?"

"Yes. They might still detect us from the other side of the planet if we use transporters."

"How will you manage a transporter lock?"

"A narrow-beam channel with the ship," Cat answered. "We use your sensors to provide the proper coordinates."

King nodded. "All very good, save one problem. How do you propose to get our shuttle to the planet's surface undetected?"

"That's the hard part," Lucy admitted. "And the most dangerous."

When the explanation was over, King would agree with that assessment.

She would also agree it was their best shot.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation of the Darglan Homeworld leads the Aurora crew into contact with the native species of Universe E5B1 and a trip to their most important space station: Babylon-5.

_Sladen_ moved into place in low orbit, just above where the atmosphere would start interacting with her, and signaled the all-ready to the shuttle _Marsh_.  
  
Said shuttle dropped from the opened hanger door of the _Sladen_. The shuttle wasn't running any lights, indeed, had barely any power going. It was quickly gripped by the planet's gravity and plummeted downward.  
  
In the shuttle Caterina was holding both her hands together and going white with fear during the rapid descent. The turbulence jostled her around in her harness and added to the discomfort. "I can't believe we're doing this," she said. "This is insane!"  
  
"That's what Commander Kane said," Lucy answered. She kept her hands on the controls and ignored the screaming warnings about their descent. The systems demanded she power up their systems and fire the engines. But she couldn't do that, not yet. Not until they were low enough that the planet completely masked their energy signature.  
  
"Are you sure about this?", Jarod asked nervously from the co-pilot seat.  
  
"Completely," Lucy insisted. She breathed in and felt the same feeling as before on Abydos. Her instincts again sung to her, telling her she still wasn't too late, that she could remain inactive a bit longer.  
  
Cat started breathing more and more quickly. _This is crazy this is crazy I can't believe we're…_  
  
"Take a breath."  
  
Cat looked across the back of the shuttlebay, where Shepard was strapped in. She looked completely confident and cool. "It's scary, yeah. But have faith in your friend. She knows what she's doing."  
  
Cat swallowed and nodded. And closed her eyes to try and keep her stomach from heaving.  
  
Lucy felt it when it was time. She triggered the shuttle's power systems with one hand while the other activated the thrusters. The shuttle lurched underneath them as its engines generated thrust to counter the gravity of the planet below. "I'm landing us in a clearing, a semi-arid part of the planet. Hold on."  
  
They all held on. But they still felt the impact. It was bone-jarring in its violence. Cat cried out in surprise at the feeling.  
  
After a moment, Lucy let out a breath and exchanged a smirk with Jarod. "See?," she said. "And that was easier than Abydos. I did that in a runabout."  
  
"I remember…" He stood up. "Alright everyone, let's get set up. The longer we're here, the more likely they might detect us."  
  
"Can I throw up first?" Cat asked wearily. "Because I think I might throw up."  
  
"Nothing like a high speed insertion, it can get the blood flowing." Shepard released her harness. She immediately reached over and pulled out a brown plastic bag. "And for our science specialist here…"  
  
"Thank you," Cat murmured.  
  
  
  
  
When they transported, it was into a darkly-lit cargo bay. Everyone activated the personal cloaks they were wearing. They could still see each other with the help of optical gear - in Shepard's case, the visor on her helmet, in which similar gear had been installed by the quartermaster department on the _Aurora_. As soon as they were in place Shepard pulled the shotgun magnetically attached to the base of her back. The weapon machinery slid out into ready positions. "I'm on the door," she whispered to them. "Let me know when you find anything."  
  
"Let's get to work." The three pulled out scanners tied to their multidevices and began scanning.  
  
  
  
  
Commander King was waiting with quiet, tried patience for a report from Jarod and his team. Their plan had been riskier than she preferred and she had almost decided on the direct attack instead. What had held her back was, at least she thought, her own dislike of the idea of attacking a civilian ship like this. Like a pirate. As much as it might be necessary for them, it was a contradiction to her own principles and those of the fleet she represented.  
  
King was not so lost in her own thoughts that she was startled by the young Ensign Skarsgard's sudden report. "Sir, we're picking up a gravitational disturbance. Consistent with the locals' jump drives."  
  
"On screen," the Englishwoman ordered. The screen shifted to show the blue vortex forming in space. A dark vessel emerged, a circular hull on what looked like ion engines, without markings to show any allegiance. There were visible weapon ports on the hull. The profile didn't make King think of a combat starship, though, and she considered it more likely that they were self-defense weapons.  
  
"It looks like they're taking up station-keeping beside the _Pedicarus_."  
  
"So it would appear. Mister Trymi, set torpedoes to wide yield and target their sensors."  
  
"Yes Commander," the Dorei weapons officer replied.  
  
"Do you want me to change position, Commander?", Caldwell asked.  
  
"Give Mister Trymi an attack angle against their sensors, Mister Caldwell." King put her hands on her command chair's arms. Alarm klaxons went off and lights flashed red. "All hands, Code Red, man battle stations. I repeat. We are now at Code Red running status, man your battle stations."  
  
"They are launching a shuttle," Skarsgard said.  
  
King watched the winged vessel emerge from the port near the middle of the circular ship. It moved in toward the _Pedicarus_.  
  
And given the scans of that ship, it seemed to be heading toward the cargo bay.  
  
  
  
  
The warning sounds gave the team just enough time to activate breathers before the atmosphere in the cargo bay was drawn out by the _Pedicarus_ ' life support systems. "Sladen _to Commander Jarod._ " King's voice came over the headset Jarod was wearing. " _Another vessel has sent a shuttle over._ "  
  
"I see. Standby." Jarod frowned. With their cloaks on they couldn't be seen, but if they jostled something outside of the cloaking field… "We need to hurry this up."  
  
" _I'm picking up traces_ ," Cat answered. " _We've got something over this way_."  
  
"Confirm it so we can get out of here." With that said he went back to work.  
  
The external doors of the bay opened. Without atmosphere there was no worry of getting sucked into space, thankfully, meaning there was no need to secure themselves and they could keep working. The winged aerospace shuttle flew in on retrothrusters and settled in the bay's open receiving spot. By the time the shuttle shut down the doors were already closing. The faint hiss of the air circulators told him they were pumping an atmosphere back into the cargo bay.  
  
The shuttle door opened and several black-garbed Humans stepped out; three men and two women. One of the women was African, one man Semitic, the second male Asian, and the two remaining ones were Caucasian. They looked around pensively but said nothing.  
  
Jarod felt his heart start beating faster. Something was wrong. It was as if they knew something was wrong, that they knew he and the others were here…  
  
They drew weapons from holsters. Small silver pistols. Three started spreading out. One, the Caucasian male, turned to face Jarod. His face betrayed some bewilderment. But his eyes seemed to…  
  
 _There you are._  
  
It took Jarod a moment to realize that the voice in his head was not his own.  
  
That was all the time the other man needed to raise his pistol and open fire.  
  
  
  
  
King felt apprehensive at the entire situation. The arrival of this other ship jeopardized their entire plan.  
  
 _The plan. What is the plan? What are we doing here?_  
  
King blinked at that. That thought… that thought couldn't be hers. It didn't feel….  
  
"Commander. Commander, they've got mindwalkers," Trymi said.  
  
"What?", she asked, confused.  
  
"Mindwalkers," Trymi repeated. "Can't you feel?"  
  
"Feel…" King shook her head. She swallowed and focused. Something, someone, was in her mind? Her _mind?_  
  
"I'm… picking up a weapons charge." Skarsgard's voice sounded strain. Like she was fighting just to be able to speak.  
  
"Evasive maneuvers," King demanded. Even as she demanded this, a part of her seemed to be fighting back. No. Don't. Just stay still. It will be fine...  
  
"Now!" Trymi shouted to Caldwell, his voice desperate. "Focus! Force your mind into action! You must throw the mindwalkers out!"  
  
Caldwell's hand was trembling as he reached or the controls of the _Sladen_. He triggered the thrusters and engines, throwing the ship into an evasive maneuver.  
  
A moment later, particle fire ripped through space they had been occupying.  
  
  
  
  
Lucy felt the minds probing for them before any of the others realized what they were facing. Meridina had trained her on facing mental incursions; mathematics, nursery rhymes. She started playing music in her head while calculating the warp mechanic profile of a starship, sludging through the numbers.  
  
Unfortunately, this seemed to only confirm her presence to the mind-reading attackers, who were circling around her through the boxes. One was clearly heading toward Cat.  
  
 _Well, if you want to read minds..._  
  
Lucy reached her hand to the nearest of them, the Asian man. She reached out with her life force and grabbed him. He led out an audible shout of surprise as he flew upward in the air and slammed into the ceiling of the cargo bay. She brought her other arm up and tore the gun from his hand.  
  
The other, the Caucasian woman, turned away from where she was hunting Cat and brought her weapon up. Lucy's arm swept her way. The first man cried out again as he went flying helplessly in that direction and slammed into his ally. Lucy took out her pulse pistol and fired a wide-arc stun bolt at both.  
  
Her hair stood up on her neck. Every instinct in her body demanded she moved, and she did… just as red energy flared up right where her head had been. _Their weapons, particle guns of some sort? High speed, too…_ She started to scramble away. She heard a cry of pain.  
  
 _Jarod!_  
  
Lucy turned back to his aid. In the distance she heard the roar of a mass effect shotgun. Shepard, of course.  
  
She found Jarod nursing a shoulder and visible. Another male, Caucasian, was standing over him with a silver gun pointed at him. Jarod's face was twisted into a rictus of effort and agony. Lucy felt the sense of violation and anger from him; the man was tearing into his mind.  
  
The mind-reader had sensed her coming and moved just as she shot. She fired again and again but couldn't land a hit. He was quick, but only humanly-so. He was using her own mind to determine where the shots were going to go.  
  
He lunged toward her, an ungloved hand reaching out to grab her by the head. Lucy saw the strike coming and ducked under it. She summoned her power and threw it all at him. The man cried out in pain as the raw force from her will slammed into him and sent him flying back into the cargo bay's dock door. She shot him with the stun bolt as he tried to stand up again.  
  
" _What's… what's going on?!_ ", Cat cried over the radio.  
  
"Cat, have you found the Darglan computers?!" Lucy shouted back. She knelt beside Jarod to check his injury.  
  
" _Um… I think…. it's somewhere here, definitely most of these crates._ "  
  
"Tag them for transport!"  
  
Jarod nodded. "It's fine," he muttered. "Just a shoulder hit." He grimaced and cradled his left arm with his right. Lucy helped him to his feet.  
  
And then she felt it. A powerful force tore into her mind, brushing away her distracted efforts to block them. Lucy cried out and dropped to her knees.  
  
 _What are you?_ , the voice demanded. It was a woman, African, wearing the same dark suit and a silver pistol in her hand. _Your mind is too stable to be a teek…_  
  
"Get out of my head!", Lucy cried out.  
  
 _I think I'll take you back. You might just be the breakthrough that we're looking…_  
  
There was a surge of energy in the air. It was… different, at least to Lucy, and with a component of unrealness to it. As if the fabric of everything was warped by its presence.  
  
A figure wreathed in blue light shot out from the crates and slammed into the mind-reader so hard that she was sent flying into the shuttle she and her allies had flown in on.  
  
Commander Shepard brought her shotgun up. A loud thundering filled the cargo bay. Blood erupted from the torso of Lucy's attacker from the slivers of metal accelerated to lethal velocity by the mass effect field generated by Shepard's weapon. Lucy dwelled for a moment on how nasty it was to see death that way. _I'm getting too used to energy weapons._  
  
Jarod cradled his head with his right hand, his left arm still limp at his side. "Telepaths," he groaned.  
  
"I've heard Asari can do something like that," Shepard said. "But only if they have physical contact."  
  
"How did you get away from the one that came after you?", Lucy asked, rubbing her own head from the headache she felt.  
  
"With a big damned headache and the poor bastard not knowing I'm a biotic," she answered. Shepard's omnitool flashed into existence as she ran her hand over Jarod's wound. "Looks like some damage to the joint. We should probably get you to the medbay."  
  
"I'll second that." Jarod nodded and reached for his multidevice. "But first things first. Jarod to _Sladen._ " He waited for a response; given their situation the system would have automatically activated the channel with his voice command.  
  
There was no immediate reply.  
  
"Jarod to _Sladen_ , please respond," Jarod said, urgency creeping into his voice. "We need pickup."  
  
After a couple of moments King's voice came over the line. " _Commander… we are under mental attack… and the ship is being fired on. It's taking everything… to fight off the mind control. I'm not sure we can beam… you back._ "  
  
Jarod pursed his lips. "Damn. You can't even lower shields?"  
  
" _... perhaps… but our operators… most of the crew is debilitated._ "  
  
"I need to get back there," Lucy said. "Meridina taught me how to fight these kinds of attacks, I should be able to use the transporters."  
  
Jarod thought on it. "Commander King, I'm going to get Lucero back over there. Lower the shield in ten seconds. We just need five seconds from then and everything will be ready."  
  
" _...I believe I understand. Counting now._ "  
  
Jarod nodded and smiled. "Right." He started counting while his hand moved over his multidevice control. "Three… four… five…"  
  
Lucy was suddenly whisked away by the transporter. The _Sladen_ transporter room materialized around her. Nearby the operator was leaning against the controls, moaning from an apparent pain in his head. Lucy could feel that there was nothing wrong; the pain was in his mind.  
  
She started reciting a poem her uncle had taught her as a little girl, and just in time. A mental power began to descend on her, trying to force her into inactivity.  
  
 _Oh no you don't. 'I love you, you love me…'_ Mentally she recalled that godawful theme song to "Barney the Dinosaur" from her childhood and played it in her mind. Lucy kept that song up while she used the controls to beam Cat straight to the cargo bay, where she could use the cargo transporters to retrieve the crates they'd identified.  
  
As she went to beam the others back the ship rumbled; a strike on the unshielded armored hull. But not a severe one; their foe wasn't a heavily armed ship at least. She had no trouble beaming Jarod and Shepard back. Both reached for their heads upon return. "Think nursery rhymes, annoying earworm songs, math problems," she urged them. "Things like that can cloud mind-readers. I'll get to the bridge."  
  
On her way there, running down the hall, she called up Caterina. "Cat?! How is it coming?!"  
  
" _I've gotten most of it._ "  
  
"And the mental attack?"  
  
" _My head hurts. But I keep thinking up the math problems I use when I'm bored. Do you think they're good at space-time field variations in a warp field under gravitational influence from a nearby star?_ "  
  
 _Good one, Cat._ "Just get that stuff off."  
  
When Lucy got to the bridge, they shook again. "Damage on Deck 3," Trymi reported.  
  
Lucy could tell he was the only one functioning. "Don't we have any more Dorei for the bridge?"  
  
"No. There are only four Dorei aboard. Two engineers and Doctor Liushan's nurse." King was starting to look better. "It feels like they're weakening."  
  
"They're probably focusing on our people using actual stations." Lucy could see that Skarsgard was completely nonfunctioning at ops. Caldwell was working at the helm, but only with massive effort. "Lieutenant, give me the helm."  
  
"...no...I can…"  
  
"That's them talking," Lucy insisted, even as she felt the pressure on her mind increase. She thought up a new musical theme, from some 80s show her mother had liked and which she thought was an annoying earworm. "Please, move."  
  
Caldwell clearly had to force himself up and away. Lucy slid into his chair and ran her hands over the controls. "Evasive maneuvers."  
  
"Take us out of here, now," King demanded.  
  
Lucy operated the controls with care and precision, all forced on her by the sustained mental attack. _Sladen_ broke free of her tormentor and moved toward open space. The first moment she could, Lucy hit the warp drives. _Sladen_ shot away from the Venir system. Everyone present could breathe a sigh of relief as the mental pressure abruptly vanished.  
  
While Lucy left Caldwell's seat and allowed him to resume the helm, she turned to King. "I gave Cat enough time to finish her transports. We have what we came for."  
  
"Excellent. Lieutenant Caldwell, set our course back for _Babylon-5_ , best speed."  
  
  
  
  
After getting King's leave to depart from the bridge, Lucy went down to Deck 2 and the ship's small medbay. Doctor Liushan was looking over Jarod, who had removed his uniform jacket and shirt so she could get to the blackened, reddened wound on his shoulder. Shepard was standing nearby. "Are you going to be okay?", Lucy asked. The wound looked nasty.  
  
"I'll live." Jarod winced as Liushan applied a medical solution. "So, this universe has Human telepaths. Or is this another situation like the Gersallians? Aliens who look Human?"  
  
"They scanned as Human." Lucy raised her arm to show the display on her multidevice.  
  
"We'd better tell Robert so he can report this." Jarod nodded at Lucy. "You look like you went through it pretty well."  
  
"Meridina's taught me some mental defense tricks. Things like repeating nursery rhymes and doing math. I go for bad music earworms myself. The idea is to distract people looking into your mind." Lucy smiled at him. "You should be even better at it than me with that powerful mind you've got."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind for next time. And I hope it's never." Jarod looked over at the wound. "Those particle guns are nasty."  
  
"Most weapons are," Doctor Liushan remarked. "Please hold still."  
  
"I'll talk to you both later. I'm sure Commander King wants a report on everything that happened."  
  
"Right."  
  
Lucy left the medbay and found Shepard was following her. "Hey." The other woman stepped up, moving in the combat gear like it was no heavier than a casual set of clothes. "How were you throwing people around like that? Is that the 'life force' stuff Commander Meridina uses?"  
  
"It is. I… have the same potential she does, so she's been teaching me to use it," Lucy explained. "Your biotics are different. They feel different."  
  
"It's probably the dark matter." Shepard nodded. "Anyway, I'd better go stow my gear and get to work on the report. I'm sure Anderson and Admiral Hackett will just love to hear about people who can read thoughts and take over minds."  
  
"Yeah. It's… pretty nasty, when you think about it." Lucy sighed. "I just wish we knew more about what they wanted."  
  
"I doubt it had anything to do with us."  
  
"Probably not. At least, not until now." Lucy checked her multidevice. "I'd better get that report ready for Commander King. See you for dinner?"  
  
"Well, it's not like there's a lot of options on this ship," Shepard pointed out. "Sure. We can see if all of this trouble was worth it, I hope."  
  
"I hope so too."  
  
They turned away from each other. At the last moment Shepard looked back. "Wait, what was done about that shuttle we took down?", she asked. "It's got some of your technology aboard, doesn't it?"  
  
"I set the remote auto-pilot before leaving the bridge," Lucy answered. "They should be bringing it aboard soon."  
  
"Right. Clever." Shepard nodded. "See you at dinner."  
  
Lucy answered with a nod and resumed her walk to the bridge of the ship. As she did so she felt a sense of unease. What, indeed, were those telepaths looking for? What was their interest in these excavations?  
  
The unease turned to dread at the prospect of what the answer might be.  
  
  
  
  
Captain Padilla of the _Pedicarus_ tried to fight back the terror he felt as the second shuttle landed in his cargo bay. Nearby his crew members were taking an inventory while the ship surgeon, Ruslov, was draping the second dead telepath with a sheet.  
  
The reason for his terror stepped out of the shuttle. The man was in a black uniform, black gloves, and the only thing breaking that up was the bronze pin on his chest; a pin with a Psi letter insignia.  
  
Padilla swallowed as his guest surveyed the dead and checked on the injured. Finally the man looked at him with a curious look on his face. "Captain, you're rather frightened. Why?"  
  
Convinced he was about to die, or suffer something worse, Padilla explained, "Your people died on my ship. Under my watch. I know you hold me responsible."  
  
The shrugged. "Well, that depends. Did you take all reasonable security measures?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Did you abet this attack?"  
  
That question stung. Suicidal pride and anger surged from underneath the terror. "No! Never! Never on my ship!"  
  
The telepath clearly noted that surge of emotion. A thin smile crossed his face. "Spoken like a true captain. Captain Padilla, I must say… you're doing me a great disservice. If you've done everything you reasonably could, taken all reasonable precautions, and been completely honest with me… why do you think I'd take this out on you?"  
  
The thought came unbidden. _Because you value your kind more than mine._  
  
"Ah. Honesty. How refreshing. I find that it always helps to get to the core of these things, Captain Padilla. It prevents misunderstandings." The telepath came uncomfortably close. "I'm not a monster, Captain. You are under no threat from me as long as you do your job and do it right. You may go."  
  
Padilla didn't need to be told twice. He took off.  
  
The telepath, meanwhile, looked back at his fallen colleagues. Given the others were only injured and stunned, it was clear that the team that raided _Pedicarus_ were a varied group. _Isley, al-Susi, double check the inventory. I want to know what these raiders took._  
  
 _Right away, Agent Bester._  
  
Alfred Bester's smile was not of mirth. Someone had killed his people. He wanted to know why.  
  
And then, he would teach them a very important lesson about killing his telepaths. A very painful lesson, too. An important education, to themselves and others, about the results of striking at the Psi Corps.  
  
  
  
  
The tram running the length of _Babylon-5_ 's cylinder moved steadily along the multi-mile span over the station's internal area, creating a vista of gardens and structures and food-growing areas. Nick Locarno let out a low whistle at the sight. "Great view," he said aloud.  
  
"Aye." Scott stood beside him, wearing his favored engineer outfit - a black vest and trousers with a long-sleeved white shirt. "A work of art, she is."  
  
"It makes you think about why we do this." Locarno went over and settled into his chair on the tram. "Half the point of joining Starfleet is getting to see new sights."  
  
"For some, aye. I dinnae join t' go sightseein' myself." Scott looked over at Locarno. "How are ye daein', lad?"  
  
Locarno considered his answer for a moment. "Well enough, I suppose."  
  
"Good. Good. Ye've gone far since we met."  
  
"It doesn't erase the past." Locarno turned and looked out at the open cylinder again.  
  
"Well, of course not. But ye're doin' worthy things on th' _Aurora_. Ye've made up for it."  
  
"Joshua Albert isn't someone I can just 'make up for'." Locarno swallowed. "It's not something I can just... "  
  
A hand pressed on his shoulder. "It's alright, lad. Ye dinnae have t' go intae it. I understand." Scott nodded. "Now, there's got t' be a place where a man can get a good Scotch. Want t' help me find it?"  
  
Locarno considered that for a moment. He smiled thinly and nodded after that consideration ended. "I'm up for a drink myself."  
  
"That's the spirit, lad. That's what shore leave is all about, after all."  
  
  
  
  
The morning routine began as usual for Julia. Replicated coffee, Turkish blend, to wake up, accompanied by a replicated croissant. Both were consumed while she went over the reports from the Gamma Shift Watch Officer. There was nothing of key importance in those reports, just indications of the ship running smoothly. The only concern was the backlog in minor parts needed to restore a couple of machine shop replicators to working order; the Quartermaster Division hadn't yet sent those needed parts, just as they were still short a couple dozen crew.  
  
She allowed herself a small sigh over that. It irked her that they were having these little niggling problems.  
  
But there was little time for more. A morning shower came, just a quick one, since after that she went to the nearest holodeck for martial arts practice - Angel's early morning availability had evaporated once she got back together with Robert, denying Julia her typical sparring partner - and after half an hour beating up holographic adversaries and another half an hour jogging through a holographic park it was back to the shower for real and a proper breakfast in the Lookout to follow.  
  
Her mind was full of considering what delectable breakfast Hargert had prepared this time when the morning routine came crashing down from the loud beep from her multidevice. She looked at the door to the Lookout and sighed. _So close._ Her finger found the comm key on the device and opened the line. "Andreys here."  
  
" _Commander._ " It was Data. " _I need to see you and Captain Dale immediately. I am currently in Science Lab 1._ "  
  
"On my way."  
  
  
  
  
Data's call had interrupted Robert's shower. It shouldn't have; he was running late for breakfast with Julia in the Outlook, actually, but Angel had provided a usual diversion upon their waking up and he was running behind.  
  
Now his stomach was growling in frustration from the lack of breakfast. And given the look on Julia's face, hers was doing almost the same.  
  
Data seemed oblivious to their plight, though. He remained seated at one of the work stations. Raw data was displayed on the screen; it looked like communications wavelengths. "You wanted to see us, Data?"  
  
"Good morning, Captain, Commander." Data was wearing the newer Starfleet uniform with the gold of operations on the shoulders and the main body black. Robert thought of it as the "DS9" uniform, as that was his first encounter with that particular Starfleet look. It looked closer to their own uniforms with the branch colors as trim around the shoulder blades.  
  
"What is it, Data?"  
  
Before he could say more, the door slid open and Meridina walked in, also in standard duty uniform and with her lakesh weapon on her hip. "Commander Data. You wished to see me?"  
  
Robert and Julia exchanged looks. For Data to want Meridina, their security chief, made this summons more ominous than out of the ordinary.  
  
"Yes." Data looked back to his panel. "While I have been running enhancements to the data compiler software that Lieutenant Delgado was applying to the Darglan data from 33LA, I have also been continuing communication with Starfleet for the purpose of keeping Captain Picard and Admiral Nechayev appraised of our progress."  
  
"Understandable" was Robert's reaction.  
  
"In addition to the standard communications, I have also been continuing contact with Commander La Forge on our own ongoing research into improving warp core safety systems, including a proposal to follow the Alliance's example and switch warp core use over to naqia material. This process includes sending significant amounts of scientific and design data through the _Aurora_ 's interuniversal communications array. To prevent communications difficulties, I do this during the ship's night periods when activity is reduced. However, on several occasions over the past several weeks, I have noted an unexpected reduction in available bandwidth during these transfers."  
  
"Reduced bandwidth." Julia crossed her arms. "You mean there's data flowing through our IU transceiver. Even in low use periods?"  
  
"Exactly." Data tapped several keys to bring up relevant data. "According to my analysis of your standard communications activity, this activity is tied into standard fleet communications. But the amount of data in the records does not match the activity recorded."  
  
The implications were clear. "Someone's sending that data. Off the record." Julia looked to Meridina. "We may have a spy aboard."  
  
"Or someone using the transceiver for unauthorized purposes," Meridina pointed out gently. "Either way, it is a security breach. I will commence an investigation immediately."  
  
"You have my full cooperation, Commander," Data promised. "I will…"  
  
Data was interrupted by Robert's multidevice. " _Bridge to Captain Dale._ " The voice was that of Lieutenant Luneri.  
  
He pressed the key to open his end of the channel. "Dale here."  
  
" _The_ Sladen _just dropped out of warp. Commander King has signaled that the mission was a success but that she needs to see you urgently._ "  
  
"Excellent news." Robert nodded to Julia. "Commander Andreys and I will be waiting for Commander King in the Main Conference Room. Get all requested personnel to report to the dock for transferring material to Science Lab 1."  
  
" _Acknowledged._ "  
  
"I wonder what happened," Julia said.  
  
Meridina looked at them. She felt Lucy now and, more importantly, felt her perturbed feelings. It gave her some concern. "I believe something may be wrong."  
  
  
  
  
"Human mindwalkers?" Meridina was the first to react to what Lucy and Jarod described. "My people were not aware that Humans could even become such."  
  
"Another mystery of this universe to explore sometime." Jarod was still favoring his left shoulder. "But at least we managed to find and recover the Darglan databanks. Data and Cat are going over them now to see if we can find the data we're looking for."  
  
"Of course, it won't take long for these people to realize the Alliance is responsible for this." Julia was frowning. The possibilities she was considering were not good. "We could have made an enemy."  
  
"I thought it unwise to attempt to destroy the two vessels," King said. "Given the scale of mental control they were exerting, staying any longer risked my entire crew."  
  
"No, you made the right call," Robert agreed. "This is just another complication we'll have to deal with over time."  
  
"I will send your testimonies to the _Farisa Genut_ on Gersal," Meridina stated. "They may be able to determine the best defense measures to take against the threat these mindwalkers may pose."  
  
"If it's not shapeshifters who can pretend to be anyone, it's mind-readers who can make people into puppets." Angel rubbed her temples with her fingers. "This whole thing is just horrifying."  
  
"We'll leave it to the experts to figure this out." Robert tapped the table impatiently. After all this time… they were so close now. So close to getting to the Facility. A part of him felt horrified at the thought of destroying it. _If we can take it, hold it… maybe there's another ship like ours that can be finished out. Or examined so we can produce more like the_ Aurora _. The manufacturing technology alone…_  
  
"So we've almost done it." Leo was looking pensive. "This means we'll be going back to the war."  
  
"We will," Julia said. "We'll need to be there to break through to wherever the Facility is in that area."  
  
"I'll make sure the medbay is fully stocked then. It's a good thing I've been working with Doctor Hobbs over on B5. They have the means to provide some of the things the Quartermaster's been holding up."  
  
"I don't know how long we'll be here, so stock up while you can." Robert stood from the table. "Alright everyone, we've got reports to make and work to do. This meeting's over."  
  
"Don't forget that you're due for tomorrow's training exercise," Angel reminded him, smirking.  
  
"Oh, I remember that." He hid the wince he felt. Somehow he was certain Worf and Shepard were preparing quite the day for him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation of the Darglan Homeworld leads the Aurora crew into contact with the native species of Universe E5B1 and a trip to their most important space station: Babylon-5.

"So you're leaving shortly?"

Leo nodded in reply to Doctor Hobbs' inquiry. The two were sitting in the Fresh Air restaurant, enjoying another meal that Hobbs had insisted Leo try out. "With Emissary Ledosh off to Minbar with your President Sheridan, we really don't have a purpose here," Leo explained. It wouldn't do to remark on the real reason they hadn't left immediately, so he added, "It's just a matter of our superiors deciding where they need us."

"Well, hopefully it won't be too dangerous." Hobbs settled her silverware down and took a drink of the wine offered by the waiter who just left. "I suppose it's a good thing, then, that all of your orders are completed."

"I can't thank you enough," Leo said. "With the ship going back in action, I want to make sure the crew is fit and well."

"Obviously." Hobbs frowned. "Doctor Gillam, can you explain something to me?"

"Hrm?"

"Your ship is the most advanced starship in the Allied System fleet, right? And you do missions personally decided upon by your President?"

"That's right," Leo said, having put down his own wineglass after a sip.

Hobbs gained a pensive look to her. "Then explain how your vessel can be denied replenishment of even basic medical stocks?"

"Well, the war, I imagine."

"Doctor, you shouldn't underestimate the power of a good quartermaster to find ways to get things where they need to go. You may need to consider other reasons for these materials not getting to you."

Leo leaned forward. He couldn't get the frown off his face as he thought about that and some of his own lingering suspicions. "You're saying you think our bosses are sabotaging us?"

"Probably not your highest superior. But if someone has it out for you in the other high ranks? You may be surprised what bureaucrats can cause."

"Food for thought," Leo agreed. "And while we share those thoughts, our actual food is getting cold…"

 

Julia decided the others were right. As space stations went, Babylon-5 was a unique place to visit.

The Zen garden was carefully maintained by the look of things, and from the top of its central structure she could look out at the entire cylinder. Buildings, farmland, gardens, everything needed to help sustain a quarter of a million sentient beings in the vacuum of space.

"Quite the view, huh?"

She turned her head and faced Shepard. Both were in their respective duty uniforms, which highlighted their other physical differences. Shepard was a bit shorter, her blazing red hair a shorter cut to Julia's long golden-blond hair, her skin a bronze contrast to Julia's own fair complexion, and where Julia's eyes were a lighter green that tended toward aquamarine, Shepard's were a strong emerald green.

"It is," Julia said. "Not as much as one for you, though?"

"After a while, space stations all start to look and feel alike," Shepard admitted. She took up a place beside Julia and looked out at it all. "It's still a good view, though. And I'll admit that there's no station quite like this one back home."

"There's nothing like this back home," Julia said. "The International Space Station's barely a collection of life support pods compared to this."

"Well, everything starts somewhere." After making that observation Shepard leaned against the edge of the building. "Of course, I grew up in space. You're a Kansas farmgirl."

"True."

"Since you're the XO, do you mind if I ask why you haven't volunteered for mission training yet?"

At that Julia smiled. "Oh, I was tempted. I got to go down to Abydos earlier this year and it reminded me of how much I missed being in the thick of things. But someone has to keep the ship running while everyone else is busy."

"Right." Shepard nodded. "I don't blame you for that. We'll need someone staying on the Aurora and keeping their ships occupied while we do our jobs. I was just wondering what your motive was."

"Sometimes I wonder about it too. But when it comes down to it… the Aurora is my responsibility. It's more important to me than getting to run around punching people."

"Even Nazis?"

Julia smirked at that. "Even Nazis."

"Because… you know, Nazis. Who doesn't want to punch Nazis?", Shepard asked. "They're just special that way."

"That's what holodecks are for." Julia leaned against the edge as well now. "And the rest of the time, I get to be the responsible one."

"Hello."

The new voice caused them to turn. Captaiin Lochley stepped out of the stairwell leading to the bottom of the building. "Commanders." she nodded at them. "I see you're enjoying the view?"

"It's a good view," Julia said. "One of many I've enjoyed since coming out into space."

"I'm glad to hear it." Lochley continued walking until she was on the other side of Shepard from Julia. Now the older woman - Julia guessed she had to be in her mid-40s - was leaning against the edge right alongside them. "I haven't been here a year yet and it's already grown on me."

"A place like this can do that," Shepard said.

"I hear you might be leaving us soon?"

"We're just waiting on new orders," Julia replied.

Lochley nodded. "Well, while you're here, would you ladies like the full tour?"

Julia and Shepard exchanged curious glances. Technically they had places to be. Shepard had to finalize the next training exercise with Worf. Julia had a ship to run.

"I've got no objection," Shepard replied.

"I don't either." Julia stood to her full height. "Lead the way, Captain."

 

It was late again when the encrypted call came through to Commander King. She sat at her desk and accepted it. Admiral Davies appeared on her screen. "Commander." He nodded. "I see you had quite the adventure."

"Mental attack, Admiral, is not something I would recommend enduring. It put my training to the test."

"And it held. That's good. We'll find that useful information when we begin training officers for resisting mental attacks." Davies leaned forward in her chair. "Now this mission to Venir. This may be what we've been waiting for. An unauthorized rogue operation that risks putting the Alliance into another conflict? I'm ready to go to the Committee with this."

At that, King shook her head. "Admiral, it won't work. I'm afraid my testimony would undermine that purpose."

"Pardon me, Commander?"

"I advised them to launch the mission, Admiral."

An interested look crossed Davies' face. He was irritated, certainly, but more curious than mad. "Well. Alright. Why?"

"Because, sir, it is vitally important that we find that Darglan Facility. The black ops mission to Venir recovered the Darglan databases that can give us the answer we need." King kept her voice tone solid. No emotion, just fact. "I recommended the mission be launched. And I persuaded Captain Dale to authorize it without informing Command."

King waited for Davies' reaction. It came with a nod. "I can see the reasoning. Very well. We'll wait for another chance. Hopefully we'll get one before the Koenig can finish escorting the Kobolian refugees to the frontier."

"Why do we have such a deadline? Certainly Koenig can be re-assigned to another command."

At that Davies made a displeased look. "President Morgan and Admiral Maran are directly involving themselves in that affair. The moment that President Roslin signals that they're settling a world, Koenig will be sent back to the Aurora and you'll be re-assigned. And since the aid to the Refugee Fleet is being routed through the Gersallian and Dorei government, we can't cause any delays to buy you time. It's all up to you, Commander. Find me something useful."

King considered that. "Admiral, what if there is nothing? I admit that, to my surprise, Captain Dale and his people have proven capable with the missions they've been given. If, perhaps, a tad informal…"

Davies' tone turned harsh. "That is unacceptable. You know as well as I what's going on behind the scenes. They're a part of something, something that we need to expose for the safety of the Alliance. Find it, Commander. Soon. Davies out."

The transmission ended. Silence reigned in King's office. She knew what Davies meant. She knew what was going on.

But she had become more and more convinced that the Aurora crew did not.

And if that was true, Admiral Davies' mission would be literally impossible.

 

It had been a long time since Robert had been pushed as much as he was being pushed today. He was with a team that included Commander Meridina, Lucy, and several of Kane's Marines. The simulated halls and rooms of a Darglan Facility were near perfect, if not entirely in order. Again, Worf and Shepard were messing with their expectations.

Which meant more Panzergrenadiers.

They had caught their team in a trap in the control room for the Facility. There was no way to go out but one door. Lucy's attempt to use the transporters had failed; the simulated Nazi forces had already taken over and locked them out. Simulated weapons fire filled the doorway and several grenades had flown in, just for Lucy and Meridina to bat them back.

"Fire in the hole!", one of the Marines shouted. Private Hakimzade, an tall and powerfully-built Uzbek woman, raised her arm. She was in heavy power armor, a Marine Assault Suit, and as her arm came up a compartment shifted open. A missile erupted from it and flew out the door, where it exploded with tremendous force.

This caused a slight cessation in the shooting. "Follow me!", Meridina cried, and the Marines followed her out as her lakesh swung in the air. Between Meridina's powers and the Marines' fire, they cleared the way forward. Robert moved with them, firing his pulse rifle and spraying sapphire pulses wherever a dark Panzergrenadier suit appeared in his vision.

It was strange and exhilarating and, despite it being a simulation, still utterly terrifying. Robert unloaded his weapon's full fire mode at one of the armored troopers approaching them from the side corridor. At that power and fire mode even a powered armor suit wasn't enough. The attacker collapsed.

Robert checked his weapon as they rushed on. He'd exhausted the power pack. He ejected the spent pack and reached for his belt for a replacement. It was like an old walkie-talkie, save no antenna, and he started pushing the hefty battery into place.

That was when Lucy went flying into him.

They both fell over and became a sprawled out tangle on the floor. Lucy shifted under Robert's legs and he started to sit up.

Just in time for a large Panzergrenadier suit to loom over him. A big armored fist moved across his eyesight, joined by the large anti-personnel auto-cannon above it. His personal shield could only hold out for a couple of seconds, then it would turn him and Lucy into something more like hamburger than people.

It was a simulation. They were on the holodeck. There was no real danger.

But while his rational thoughts knew this, something inside him reacted to the visceral nature of what was unfolding. It didn't care that they were in a training simulation. All it cared about was that he was about to die and messily and he needed to do something and just make this thing go away...

And something inside him resonated with that thought.

Robert threw his arms out and cried out, "Get away!"

The enemy did.

Or rather, the enemy went flying.

It went flying into the nearest enemy, knocking him over and stopping that foe from firing, and both of them got blown apart by Private Hakimzade's own heavy armaments.

For another five seconds the firing continued, then ceased. They had defeated the enemy team. Robert started to lift himself off of Lucy. He looked down at her and offered her a hand. "Here."

She continued to stare at him. Her blue eyes were wide with shock.

"Lucy?", he asked.

"You… you…" She swallowed. "Robert, do you know what you just did?"

In the heat of the moment he hadn't thought of it. He just knew that something had knocked the enemy back. He looked on at the other Marines, who were all staring at him.

And Meridina too. But she wasn't staring. Instead there was a bright intensity in her blue eyes as she stood there, lakesh glinting with its protective EM field around the memory metal blade, looking every bit the knight in her dark purple armor and blue robe.

And then it came to him. He'd… he hadn't even touched the armored soldier. He'd just…

"Robert." Meridina's voice was calm and still. "We need to finish the mission. And then, we need to talk."

 

The simulation was a success. They took a couple of losses, including a very irritated Lucy, and afterward had their debriefing with Shepard and Worf. Neither of the experts made any comment about what Robert had done. Apparently they were leaving that for Meridina to handle.

When it was all said and done, Robert returned to his quarters. Babylon-5 was still spinning outside of the window, and it gave him something to look at.

His mind kept flashing back to that encounter. The sudden thing that had happened, that feeling within him.

There was a beep at the door. He ignored it at first. But it didn't stop. Finally he said, "Enter." The system unlocked his door.

Meridina and Lucy entered. "Robert…" Lucy spoke first. "Robert, there's something you need to know."

"I already know," he said, in a small voice. "The dreams… I guess they were the first sign, weren't they?"

"Yes." Meridina's voice was calm and gentle, as usual. "You have the gift."

And indeed, he had dreamed that too. "I think I've known for a while," he admitted. "But… I didn't want…" He turned toward them. He faced both; Lucy and her concerned look, Meridina's calm expression. "I don't know if this is something I want," he said. "This is…"

"You still have that choice," Meridina assured him. "Lucy had intentionally called upon it, which is why it awoke for her. Your use of the power was instinctive and unprepared. It has not awoken yet. It might never, if you refuse to use it. Over time, it might even quiet. Particularly if you are not exposed to its use in others."

"What do you mean by that?", Robert asked.

"She means that being around it makes you more receptive to it," Lucy answered. "It's… it's the Flow of Life, it's around everything, and use of the power can make you feel it within yourself. It's how it started for me. Being around Meridina and knowing it was there."

"Yes." There was something soothing in the way Meridina's voice remained level and calm.

Robert considered that. "Which means that the more you two are around me, the more likely I'll start to use this… ability. This 'life force' stuff."

"Exactly." Meridina nodded. "The true question, Robert, is this. Do you wish to learn?"

The question was direct and to the point. He thought about it. Did he want to learn how this stuff worked? To wield whatever this was?

Do I want to have nightmares every night? was one thought that went through him. He'd been following Ledosh's advice, trying to remain positive as he fell asleep and to dream of good things. But the nightmares still came. Not as often as before, granted, but they hadn't gone away.

"What do you two think?", Robert asked them. "Do you think I should?"

Lucy's response was first. "I think… I think it has to be your decision, Robert. I can't tell you whether you should or not. It's different for each of us."

"I will not be untrue to you. I do believe there is great good you can accomplish if you did learn, Robert," Meridina admitted. "It can never be anyone's choice but your own, and I cannot advise you either way. Listen to your heart and decide if you can trust yourself with the power. It is a heavy burden. Darkness and corruption will tempt you. But I know you are meant to have it. I believe it is your destiny. But you must be willing to do so. It is your choice, not mine."

Robert had heard those words before, in the depth of his dreams. He swallowed. "I…" His mind went through all of the possibilities. If this was something he wanted. Something he…

There was another chime at the door. Robert called out "Come in" and the door slid open.

Angel stepped in. She gave a look to Meridina and Lucy before looking at Robert and rushing up to him. "Rob, what happened in that training simulation?!", she asked, her voice insistent. "I mean, I just saw the recording, you… you…"

"I've got their power," he said. "And… I have to decide whether I'm going to use it or not."

Angel looked back to the two. "Can you give him some space?", she asked them. "This isn't something he can decide on the spur of a moment."

"Of course." Meridina looked to Lucy. "Let us depart."

After they went out the door Angel embraced him closely. "My God. This is… those nightmares, right? Those nightmares are from this?"

"Apparently so."

"Then we need to find a way to make it stop," she said. "So you can sleep again."

He thought on that. Was that the way to go? Make the power go away? Could he make it go away? "Maybe, I… Angel, I don't know what I'm going to do about this." He sat on his bed. Angel sat beside him. Her hazel eyes burned with protective concern. "Maybe this is something I'm meant to do."

"Robert." Her voice was firm and disapproval was evident. "This stuff is torturing you every night. You've woken up screaming how often in the past few months? And then there's all the pressure you have as the Captain. You really think you'll be able to do all of the weird training and stuff Meridina will require? There aren't enough hours in the day for it, Rob. This thing… you've done enough, okay? You're doing enough, you're doing your part, you don't need to take that on too."

Robert considered that argument. The truth was that he did feel fairly exhausted often. The sleep interrupted by nightmares, the stress of captaincy, the monotonous boredom of the need to sign requisition orders and personnel directives and action reports and everything else… How could he find the time to learn this life force stuff on top of that? He'd stretch himself so thin…

Angel was right. It wasn't something he could do.

"You're right," he said to her. "So don't worry about it. I'll tell them no."

Angel nodded at that. "Good." She nuzzled his neck. "You do so much already, Rob. You're always doing so much to make this work, to make things better for people. But you've got to look out for yourself too, enough to keep yourself sane. Don't let all of this crush you, okay?"

He nodded at that. His full answer came a moment later when he kissed Angel on the lips.

 

Tag

 

Robert had decided he wanted one last look at Babylon-5.

He hadn't come alone either. Angel walked beside him as they went through the Zocalo, just two people among a crowd of various species and Humans as they went about their day. "It's not as big or populated as the Citadel," he observed to her. "But it's got a charm of its own, doesn't it?"

"It does," she agreed. And then she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

They wound up in the station's central corridor. Traffic moved around them, mostly foot traffic, as the station's crew and denizens went about their day. "Captain Dale!", a voice called out.

Robert looked up to a catwalk above them. Captain Lochley was already moving to the side, heading to the stairway down.

Robert and Angel went over and met her at the base of the stairs. "Captain Elizabeth Lochley, station commander," he said for Angel's benefit. "This is Lieutenant Angela Delgado, the Aurora's Tactical and Gunnery Officer."

"Captain, ma'am," Angel said, nodding.

"Lieutenant." Lochley returned the nod. "Are you on duty?"

Robert shook his head. "We just didn't change out of our uniform. I… wanted to show Angel the station before we left."

Lochley had already noted they were holding hands. "Of course." She smiled in understanding. "It's a wonderful place. Delenn used to call it a dream given form."

"I was doing some reading on its origins. It was certainly the result of a lot of stubbornness. The good kind." Robert grinned at Angel when saying that; she was quite stubborn herself.

"After the Earth-Minbari War, we knew that a place like this was needed," Lochley answered. "And in the end, it's worked out."

"Glad to hear it." Robert felt a thought come to mind. "Maybe… well, the InterStellar Alliance has moved to Minbar, but maybe this station could serve one day to do the same for all of the species and governments of all of the known universes?"

Lochley laughed at that. "It would certainly make my job more complicated. But it would be worth it. I've had enough conflict in my life."

"I know that feeling," Angel said. "But sometimes you have to fight."

Lochley gave no answer to that. Before anyone could say more, Robert's multidevice let off a tone. He reached down and accepted the incoming transmission. "Dale here."

"Captain, Jarod and Cat need us all in Science Lab 1, immediately." It was Julia on the other end. "I think they've found something."

Robert nodded at that. "We're on our way back now. Dale out." He looked to Lochley. "Well, Captain, I'm guessing this is goodbye for now."

"Hopefully just 'for now'," Lochley said. "I wouldn't mind getting to see your ship again. It's a lovely vessel."

"Thank you. And I'd love to get to see this place again." Robert looked around. He could almost feel the history here, the gravitas of the station and the role it had played. "Hopefully we'll be back sooner rather than later."

Lochley responded by offering her hand. Robert took it and they had a handshake. When that was over he pressed the commkey again. "Dale to Transporter Station 1. Two to beam out."

Lochley watched as the two were taken away by bursts of white light. "I'm going to have to get used to that," she murmured.

 

Everyone had gathered in Science Lab 1. In one corner of the room, solid shapes of blue and green had been placed in transparent storage containers. Wires ran around and into them. "It took several attempts to make the databanks work," Data explained, "but after connecting them to your tertiary auxiliary computer core, I was able to use the raw processing power to bypass the security measures and begin decrypting the data kept within."

"So have you found anything?", Locarno asked.

Jarod nodded. "A lot of things, actually. Technical schematics for smaller, more efficient versions of our pulse plasma cannons. Transwarp drive studies. New universal coordinates."

"But what about the Facility we're looking for?", Robert asked. "That's what we need."

Jarod looked to Cat, who nodded. "We found fragments of a transmission stored in the databanks. Here." She hit a key.

An alien voice began talking in a language they didn't understand. "I'm applying our datafiles on the Darglan language… now."

The alien voice became overlaid with a simulated one. "...are going to come for us, you know it, Lamin. We have no choice/decision, we must go back/up to the other places-of-being/cosmos/universe."

"Then they will come for us, Gramul! And the Vorlons will not protect/safeguard our survival in that case. We promised them never to touch/utilize/manipulate this technology again!"

"The Dark Ones will ignore the Vorlons, they want us gone/exterminated, they always have! This is our only hope! Here, I have the coordinates and lists/inventories, all I need is access to the drive design plan/schematic/layout and..."

"Gramul, no! What have you done?! That information is…" There was a low rumble in the background. "...what is that? Why is the sun/star/source-of-light going out, there isn't an eclipse…"

"Ancestors/Revered Ones, no. No. I… I was too late…"

The transmission cut.

Everyone remained silent for a moment. It was Shepard who asked, "Is that when their world was destroyed?"

"We don't know for sure," Jarod admitted. "But given what we were told by Suvall and Delenn about the Shadows killing the Darglan, and the information from the recent Shadow War… it fits."

"The Shadow Planet-Killer is an amorphous cloud formed by what is apparently nanotechnology of some form," Data said. "It surrounds a planet and fires gigaton-scale atomic missiles into a planet's core. Given the description stated by the one called 'Lamin', it would seem to indicate this discussion happened just as the Shadows deployed this weapon on the Darglan homeworld."

Cat shook her head. Her eyes were bright with tears. "It's so horrible. The Darglan were such a nice people, why would these Shadows want them dead?"

"Maybe the Shadows were just evil bastards?" Angel suggested to her sister. "I mean… 'shadow' is kind of a nasty thing to call yourself, I think?"

"At least from our cultural perspective," Data pointed out. "That said, it appears the name 'Shadow' is not their species' name, but rather a designation given to them by the Minbari."

"They were talking about Facility coordinates," Meridina noted. "Were they contained in the data?"

"They were," Jarod said. He hit a key. Three sets of coordinates popped up. Two were of Earth, one for their home universe. "It looks like there was a second Earth to get one," Jarod said. "But the data for that is missing the universe designation. The third set, though…"

It was, indeed, a set of coordinates. Exact coordinates, and a set that they'd seen part of before.

And beside those coordinates were four symbols.

S4W8.

"We did it," Julia breathed. "We have the coordinates." She looked to Robert and grinned. "We did it."

He nodded and returned the grin. "Now we tell Admiral Maran. And we get ready." Robert looked to everyone. "Now…" He thought on what to say.

"Now we have to get around the Nazi fleet and beat them there," Leo finished for him.

Robert nodded. "That's right. This was the easy part. Now the real work begins."


End file.
